Greenville, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule Friday evening with a 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 12-25) loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd at Alley Gymnasium.
Furman drops to 4-6 on the season while Marshall improves to 5-5 overall.
Lauren Haynes led the Paladins offensively with eight kills and turned in 11 digs.
Ava Augustson provided seven kills while
Genevieve Perry had six kills and five blocks (three assisted, two solo). Defensively,
Andrea Aceveda recorded 17 digs.
Sarah Turner just missed on her fifth consecutive double-double after finishing with 24 assists and eight digs.
Jazminn Parrish and Brynn Brown both compiled double-doubles to pace the Thundering Herd. Parrish tallied 10 kills and 11 digs while Brown dished out 27 assists to go with 17 digs. Macy McElhaney led the team with 16 kills and Kaitlyn Gehler registered 16 digs.
Furman took an early 4-3 lead in the first set when Perry connected on a kill before Marshall used a 14-5 run to go in front 17-9, leading to a Paladin timeout. Furman responded by going on a 12-5 run of its own and trailed 23-21 following a Thundering Herd attack error. Augustson kept Furman within two, 24-22, two plays later with her kill. Marshall won the set on the following play.
The second set featured a total of 10 ties which began with the Paladins going on a 7-2 run, capped by a combination block from Perry and Haynes, forcing the Thundering Herd into a timeout. Marshall came back to even the score at 10-10 before Furman scored the next two points to go back in front 12-10. The score would be tied six times after that with neither team holding a lead of more than two points. The Paladins took a 21-20 lead when Haynes connected on a kill, but the Thundering Herd ended the set scoring five of the last seven points. Marshall captured the set 25-23 after a Furman service error.
The Thundering Herd opened the third set recording six of the first seven points as part of a 7-2 run. The Paladins cut their deficit down to three, 8-5, when Haynes posted a kill only to see Marshall break the set open with an 11-4 run to take a 19-9 advantage. The Thundering Herd went on to score the final three points to win the set, 25-12, and earn the 3-0 match victory.
Furman concluded the match with nine total blocks, tying for its second-highest total of the season behind the 11 posted on September 9 in a 3-0 sweep of Presbyterian.
The Paladins begin Southern Conference play on Wednesday, September 21 when they host The Citadel at 7 p.m.
