Greenville, S.C. – Gylian Finch and Morgan Romano had 13 kills apiece to lead the Chattanooga Mocs to a 3-0 (21-25, 25-27, 23-25) victory over the Furman volleyball team in the Paladins' home finale, Saturday afternoon at Alley Gym.
Furman drops to 16-9 overall and 7-7 in the SoCon. With the win, Chattanooga improves to 18-11 on the season and 6-8 in conference play.
The Paladins had three players finish with 10 or more kills led by
Lauren Haynes, who totaled 13 kills and nine digs.
Grainne McGrath poured in 11 kills and
Lindsay Walch 10.
Emily Navarro dished out 23 assists while
Ella Abraham contributed 17. Defensively,
Kennedy Seekford led the team with 14 digs.
Prior to first serve on Saturday, Furman held its Senior Day ceremony honoring Abraham,
Kaeli Braswell,
Mikaela Schultz, and
Sydney Tanner.
Romano posted a double-double for the Mocs with 13 kills and 12 digs, while Finch added 13 kills and nine digs. Elaine Redman provided 44 assists and Paige Gallentine a match high 17 digs.
Haynes, Walch, and
Mary Beth Headley combined for 11 of the Paladins' 15 kills in the first set. The Mocs built an 18-12 lead midway before Furman responded with an 8-5 run to cut its lead to 23-20. A kill from Haynes trimmed Chattanooga's lead to three. The Mocs would capture the set three points later, 25-21.
Chattanooga led by as many as nine points early in the second set, going ahead 16-7 after a Paladin attack error. Furman would then outscore the Mocs 12-6 and trailed by only one, 20-19, in the later stages on a solo block by
Genevieve Perry. Chattanooga followed with four of the next five points and was at set point leading 24-20. The Paladins scored four straight points to even the score at 24-24 when Walch connected on a kill. After the teams traded the next two points, the Mocs scored the following two to win 27-25.
The third set featured a total of 17 ties and seven lead changes with Furman hitting .263 for the frame. The first 32 points saw the score even 10 times before the Paladins went ahead 17-16 on McGrath's kill. Chattanooga would go in front 21-20 late until Furman responded with the next two points on a Mocs attack error and Perry kill to lead 22-21. The Paladins tied the score a few plays later when Walch made the score 23-23 with her kill. Chattanooga picked up the final two points for the 25-23 triumph and 3-0 match victory.
Furman concluded the match hitting .228 as a team and held a 49-48 advantage in kills.
The Paladins conclude the regular season next weekend, November 10-11, traveling to UNC Greensboro and The Citadel.
