Greenville, S.C. – Lauren Haynes and
Emily Navarro recorded double-doubles to pace the Furman volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-23) sweep of the UNC Greensboro Spartans in Southern Conference action, Saturday afternoon inside Alley Gymnasium.
Furman improves to 13-6 overall and evens its SoCon record at 4-4 on the season. UNC Greensboro drops to 1-18 on the year and 0-8 in conference play.
Haynes led all players with a match high 13 kills on .344 hitting and tied Navarro after totaling 11 digs for her fourth double-double this year. Navarro added the second double-double of her career on 29 assists and 11 digs.
Mary Beth Headley contributed seven kills and
Grainne McGrath,
Izzy Castelloe, and
Lindsay Walch all finished with six.
Kennedy Seekford registered 10 digs.
Hallie Cook paced UNCG offensively with six kills to go with 11 digs. Mallory Meers dished out 16 assists and Mya Wood compiled 15 digs.
Headley and Walch combined for eight kills in the first set as the Paladins posted a .273 hitting percentage. The Spartans took a 13-10 lead early in the set before Furman reeled off six straight points to hold a 16-13 advantage. The Paladins would outscore UNC Greensboro 9-3 after that to claim the 25-16 victory, capped by a combination block from McGrath and Navarro.
Furman jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in the second set and would go in front 10-2 a few plays later when Castelloe and Haynes combined for a block. Haynes maintained the Paladins' eight-point advantage midway when her kill put the score at 14-6. UNCG cut Furman's lead down to 14-10 after scoring four consecutive points but the Paladins closed out the frame on an 11-2 run. Furman won the set 25-12 off a Spartan service error. The Paladins limited UNC Greensboro to -.143 hitting during the frame.
The Spartans trimmed Furman's lead to 9-8 early in the third set before the Paladins broke the set open courtesy of an 8-2 run. A UNCG service error extended Furman's lead to 17-10. UNC Greensboro managed to cut the lead down to 18-15 until the Paladins answered by scoring four of the next five points and took a 22-16 lead when Haynes recorded a kill. The Spartans followed with a 6-1 run of its down and trailed 23-22, leading to a Furman timeout. The teams traded points before Headley captured the 25-23 win with her kill, giving the Paladins the 3-0 sweep.
Furman concluded the match hitting .229 as a team while holding an opponent to its lowest hitting total of the season. UNCG would hit .039 overall.
The Paladins continue their homestand next weekend, October 19-20, hosting East Tennessee State and Western Carolina.
