Blacksburg, Va. – The Furman volleyball team began its 2023 season on Friday by sweeping a pair of non-conference matches against the Quinnipiac Bobcats and Morgan State Bears during the first day of the Hokie Invitational at Cassell Coliseum.
Furman (2-0) opened tournament play with a come-from-behind 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 16-14) victory over Quinnipiac and followed with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-14) sweep of Morgan State.
The Paladins play their final match of the Hokie Invitational on Saturday afternoon taking on host Virginia Tech at 3 p.m. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The match is being streamed via paid subscription on ACC Network Extra.
Match 1 – Quinnipiac 2, Furman 3
Furman trailed 2-1 and rallied from behind late in both the fourth and fifth sets to defeat Quinnipiac, who appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, in its first match of the day, 3-2. The win was the Paladins first season-opening triumph since 2021 when they defeated North Alabama 3-1 in Wilmington, N.C.
Lauren Haynes led Furman offensively with 13 kills while
Ava Augustson turned in a double-double of 10 kills and 12 digs.
Grainne McGrath provided nine kills on .600 hitting and six blocks while
Izzy Castelloe, playing in her first collegiate match, added eight kills and seven blocks.
Ella Abraham totaled a career high 41 assists to go with eight digs and
Kennedy Seekford, also making her collegiate debut, tied Augustson with 12 digs.
Aryanah Diaz and Ginevra Giovagnoni both had double-doubles for the Bobcats with Diaz finishing with 21 kills and 11 digs while Giovagnoni contributed 19 kills and 18 digs. Damla Gunes dished out 50 assists and Fa'avae Kimsel Moe led all players with 28 digs.
Quinnipiac was ahead 2-1 in the match and sat at set point in the fourth leading 24-23 following a Paladin attack error. McGrath sent the set into extra points with her kill and Furman benefitted from a combination block by Haynes and McGrath, followed by a bad set from the Bobcats, to capture the frame 26-24 to send the match into the fifth set.
Quinnipiac scored 10 of the initial 15 points in the fifth set highlighted by five consecutive points. The Paladins responded with a 6-2 run of its own and cut their deficit down to 12-11 late when Haynes connected on a kill. Furman faced match point a few plays later but McGrath and
Lindsay Walch, another Paladin making her collegiate debut, evened the score at 14-14 with their combination block. The duo would follow with back-to-back kills to give Furman the 16-14 set victory and 3-2 match triumph.
The Paladins concluded the contest hitting .142 as a team and combined for 13 blocks.
Match 2 – Furman 3, Morgan State 0
Furman compiled a .333 hitting percentage, while limiting Morgan State to just a .056 clip, to complete the opening day sweep with a 3-0 victory.
Augustson paced the Paladin offense with a match high 15 kills on .344 hitting while
Mary Beth Headley tallied 11 kills on .375 hitting and nine digs. Walch turned in eight kills. Abraham dished out 33 assists and Seekford registered 12 digs.
Furman posted a .300 or better hitting percentage in all three sets led by a .375 mark during the third set.
Makila Billingsley led the Bears with six kills and Erin Carpenter recorded 17 assists and seven digs.
Augustson and Walch combined for 10 kills in the first set as the Paladins scored four of the final six points en route to the 25-20 win. The Bears got to within 21-18 late before Furman forced the Bears into three attack errors including two straight to close out the frame.
The Paladins ended the second set on a 6-2 run for the 25-18 victory as Headley totaled six kills on .556 hitting. Furman began the set on another 6-2 run and pushed its lead to seven points three times. Morgan State tied the score 7-7 early but the Paladins answered with a 9-4 run.
Furman never trailed throughout the third set after starting on an 8-3 run. After the Bears cut the lead down to 12-10 midway, the Paladins followed with a 9-2 run to hold a 21-12 advantage. Furman captured the set 25-14 when Haynes recorded a kill. Augustson finished with seven kills in the set, while not committing an attack error, on .583 hitting.
The Paladins held a 48-24 advantage in kills, 44-23 in assists, and 41-29 in digs.
