Greenville, S.C. – Mary Beth Headley finished with a match high 12 kills to lead the Furman volleyball team past the UNC Asheville Bulldogs 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-23) on Wednesday evening in the Paladins' home opener at Alley Gymnasium.

Furman improves to 3-1 on the season while UNC Asheville drops to 3-2 overall.

Headley's 12-kill performance on .276 hitting, to go with eight digs, led a balanced Paladin attack with six players collecting at least one kill. As a team, Furman hit .311 overall led by Izzy Castelloe's .467 clip.

Castelloe and Ava Augustson both finished with nine kills while Augustson contributed seven digs. Ella Abraham dished out 31 assists. Defensively, Kennedy Seekford had 12 digs and Grainne McGrath four assisted blocks.

Kylie Cackovic paced the Bulldog offense with seven kills and Kat Davis posted eight assists. Michelle Thao totaled eight digs.

The Paladins posted a .345 hitting percentage in the opening set, highlighted by Headley's seven kills, while limiting UNC Asheville to just .032 hitting. The teams traded the first 10 points before Furman broke the set open with a 15-7 run to lead 20-12. Headley captured the set for the Paladins, 25-17, with her service ace.

Furman registered six service aces during the second set to go along with a .385 hitting performance. The frame began in similar fashion as the first with the score even at 7-7 early. The Paladins, who limited the Bulldogs to only six kills in the set, used another long scoring run, this time 14-3, to increase their advantage out to 21-10. McGrath capped the set with back-to-back kills to give Furman the 25-15 triumph.

The Paladins used an 8-5 run midway in the third set to take a 20-15 lead on Castelloe's kill. UNC Asheville responded with a 6-1 run of its own to tie the score at 21-21. Furman then came back with two straight points, capped by a combination block from McGrath and Headley, to go in front 23-21. The Bulldogs got back to within one at 24-23, but Augustson captured the set and match the following point with her kill.

The Paladins concluded the contest with 10 service aces, their most since recording 13 in a four-set win over UNC Greensboro in the first round of the 2022 SoCon Volleyball Championship. McGrath and Headley both led Furman with three service aces apiece. Furman held a 40-23 advantage in kills, 39-21 in assists, and 38-33 in digs.

The Paladins and Bulldogs will face each other again on Friday evening with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Justice Center in Asheville, N.C.