Greenville, S.C. – Sanne Maring led all players with 14 kills on Monday evening as the East Tennessee State Buccaneers defeated the Furman Paladins 3-1 (22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 20-25) in SoCon volleyball action inside Alley Gymnasium.

Furman falls to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference while ETSU improves to 2-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play.

Neci Harris led the Paladins offensively with 12 kills and a .348 hitting percentage while Courtney Hoffman and Sydney Tanner recorded eight apiece. Natalie Dunn also had six kills. Hoffman turned in five total blocks on the defensive side. Katie Murphy dished out a team-best 38 assists. Andrea Aceveda tallied a match-high 18 digs and Sarah Turner contributed nine.

Maring was one of three Buccaneers to record double-digit kills along with Olivia Cunningham and Lauren Hatch. Cunningham turned in a double-double on 13 kills and 11 digs while Hatch also compiled 13 kills. Emily Arnold totaled 48 assists.

East Tennessee State used an 11-3 run to start the first set and built its lead out to 12-4 forcing Furman into a timeout. The Paladins came out of the timeout and proceeded to score 10 of the next 14 points and trimmed their deficit down to 15-13 on an ETSU attack error. After the Buccaneers increased their lead to 20-14, Furman came back with a 6-1 run and trailed 21-20 following a kill by Hoffman. ETSU closed out the set scoring four of the final six points to win 25-22.

The Buccaneers jumped out to another 11-3 advantage to begin set two. The Paladins got as close as three points, 17-14, midway courtesy of an 11-6 run. Five different Furman players recorded a kill during the run which was capped by an ETSU attack error. The Paladins would be held to two points after that as East Tennessee State would go on to a 25-16 victory.
 
The teams traded the opening 10 points of the third set before Furman reeled off four straight after kills from Dunn, Hoffman and Tanner, and a solo block by Hoffman. The Paladins took their largest lead of the frame at 14-8 when Harris connected on a kill. The Buccaneers rallied to tie the score twice midway with the last coming at 17-17. Furman answered with a 6-1 run to increase its lead out to 23-18 capped by Aceveda's service ace. An ETSU attack error gave the Paladins the 25-21 win.

Furman trailed 8-7 early in the fourth set before East Tennessee State would go on a 6-2 run to go ahead 14-9 after a service ace. The Paladins responded with kills by Dunn and Tanner to get back to within two points, 14-12, forcing the Buccaneers to call a timeout. After ETSU took a 19-13 lead, Furman stayed close using kills from Harris and Mikaela Schultz to trail 20-18. An attack error by East Tennessee State two plays later put the score at 21-19. The Buccaneers closed out the set scoring four of the last five points to take the set 25-20 and secure the 3-1 match victory.

The Paladins finished the match hitting .141 as a team and registered nine total blocks. ETSU posted a .209 team hitting percentage and 14 blocks.

Furman begins a four-match road trip Feb. 7-8 traveling to Charleston, S.C. to face The Citadel in back-to-back SoCon contests.