Greenville, S.C. – A total of three double-doubles were recorded by the Furman volleyball team on Thursday evening as it fell 3-1 (27-25, 26-28, 22-25, 16-25) to the Kennesaw State Owls in non-conference play inside Alley Gymnasium.
Furman drops to 5-4 on the season while Kennesaw State improves to 6-4 overall.
In a match that featured 35 ties and 14 lead changes, the Paladins posted a .200 team hitting percentage, while
Bella Tolone,
Maya Mrus and
Sarah Turner each recorded a double-double. Tolone posted her team-leading fourth double-double of the year with 11 kills and 12 digs, Mrus her third on 10 kills and 19 digs, and Turner her third with 23 assists and 15 digs.
Neci Harris also registered 10 kills.
Ella Abraham just missed on her second double-double with 19 assists and nine digs.
Lauren Chastang led the Owls with a double-double of 19 kills and 15 digs. Emma Schurfranz collected 14 kills and Dani Ballou 12. McKinley Ferguson dished out 40 assists, and Bri Becerra and Claire Parsons tallied 15 and 10 digs, respectively.
The opening set was highlighted by 16 ties and eight lead changes with Furman scoring the first three points, including two service aces from Turner, and led 4-2 early on Tolone's kill. After Kennesaw State evened the set at 8-8, the Paladins scored three of the next four points to lead 11-9 after a kill from Harris. The Owls followed with a 10-7 run and held a 19-18 advantage on Jasmine Brown's kill. Kennesaw State would sit at set point, 25-24, following a kill from Chastang. Furman closed out the set with kills by Tolone, Abraham and
Sydney Tanner to pick up the 27-25 win. The Paladins posted a .342 hitting percentage in the first set.
The score would be tied a total of 12 times in the second set with five coming in the first 10 points. Furman would tie the score at 5-5 when
Kelsey Watkins connected on a kill. The Owls built their lead to as many as four, 14-10, midway after a service ace by Schurfranz. The Paladins rallied with a 6-1 run and took the lead back at 16-15 on Tolone's service ace. Furman took its largest lead of the set, 23-20, when Tanner and Watkins combined for a block. Kennesaw State came back with a 5-1 run of its own and was leading at set point, 25-24, before Tanner extended the frame with her kill. The teams traded the next three points before the Owls got blocks from Schurfranz and Parsons to claim the 28-26 victory.
Kennesaw State began the third set on a 5-1 run until the Paladins answered with nine of the following 12 points to even the score at 8-8 after a kill from Mrus. Chastang would later give the Owls another four-point advantage when her kill made the score 18-14, forcing Furman into a timeout. The Paladins came out of the break to go on a 6-1 run and regained the lead at 20-19 on a kill by
Chandler Parker. Kennesaw State finished the set on a 6-2 run to win 25-22.
The Owls used an 8-2 run to start the fourth set and went ahead 13-3 after Ballou connected on a kill. Kennesaw State led by double-digits until Furman made a late charge and got as close as six points, 22-16, on Abraham's service ace. Following a timeout, the Owls scored the final three points to secure the 25-16 victory and capture the match, 3-1.
Furman concluded the match holding an 81-71 advantage in digs and totaled seven blocks.
The Paladins play their final non-conference match of the season Friday evening when they host High Point at 7 p.m.
