Greenville, S.C. – For the second consecutive year, the Furman volleyball team upset the No. 1 seed at the SoCon Volleyball Championship as the eighth-seeded Paladins defeated the East Tennessee State Buccaneers 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-14) in the quarterfinals from Timmons Arena.

The Paladins (10-18), who avenged two regular season losses to the Buccaneers, move on to Saturday's semifinal where they will face No. 4 Chattanooga at 5 p.m. from Timmons Arena. East Tennessee State finishes its season at 21-8 overall.

Morgan Cobb led Furman with a career high 15 kills on .344 hitting while Lauren Haynes, a SoCon All-Freshman Team performer, registered her fifth double-double of the season on 15 digs and 14 kills. Mary Beth Headley contributed 11 kills and Andrea Aceveda 12 digs. Sarah Turner poured in 31 assists and eight digs while Ella Abraham had 19 assists and seven digs.

Jenna Forster had a team high 14 kills on .387 hitting for the Buccaneers and Amanda Lowe contributed 11. Brianna Cantrell contributed a double-double of 13 digs and 10 kills. Caroline Dykes dished out 35 assists to go with nine digs. Defensively, Haley Sanders registered a match high 18 digs.

The opening set featured 13 ties and five lead changes with the Paladins taking a 13-10 lead midway on Cobb's kill. Furman would later take the lead back at 18-17 on an ETSU attack error. The Buccaneers held the lead late before the Paladins went ahead 21-20 when Cobb and Grainne McGrath combined for a block. East Tennessee State closed out the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-22.

Furman hit .333 as a team during the second set as it trailed just once in the frame. Cobb, Haynes, and Kelsey Watkins combined for 12 of the Paladins' 18 kills in the set. The Paladins used a 6-2 run to open the set and lead 8-3, leading to an ETSU timeout, when Watkins connected on a kill. The Buccaneers rallied back to tie the score twice midway with the last coming at 15-15. Furman answered with a 6-3 run to push its lead out to 21-18 capped by Haynes' kill. ETSU got as close as 24-23 only to see the Paladins win the set the following play on a kill from Cobb.

The third set saw the score tied a total of 16 times as neither team led by more than three points. The Buccaneers led 10-7 early before Furman used an 8-4 run, capped by an ETSU attack error, to go in front 15-14 at the media timeout. The teams traded the lead late with the Paladins holding a 22-19 advantage when Watkins recorded a solo block. East Tennessee State followed with three of the next four points and cut the lead down to 23-22. Headley answered with a kill and service ace to give Furman the 25-22 victory.

The Paladins tallied a .520 hitting percentage in the fourth set, finishing with 14 kills while committing just one attack error. Haynes accounted for five kills and five digs in the frame while Headley and Cobb combined for five kills and no attack errors. ETSU scored the first three points before Furman answered with a 12-4 run to take a 12-7 lead when McGrath and Sydney Tanner teamed up for a block. East Tennessee State would only get as close as four points the remainder of the set. The Paladins broke the set open courtesy of an 11-3 run and led 23-11 when Watkins and Tanner combined for a block. Abraham's kill secured the 25-14 set win and 3-1 match victory, sending Furman into the semifinals for the fifth time in six seasons.

The Paladins concluded the match with 11 total blocks, their eighth time this season with double-digit blocks, with Watkins finishing with six (three solo, three assisted) and McGrath four.

Fans can follow the action Saturday on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The match is being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will also be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).

Tickets for the match are $10 for adults and $5 for kids. An all-tournament pass is also available for $30. Students from SoCon schools receive free admission with their school ID. Click here for tournament ticket information.