Clinton, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team fought back from two sets down on Thursday evening to defeat the Presbyterian Blue Hose 3-2 (15-25, 15-25, 26-24, 25-15, 15-7) in non-conference action inside the Templeton Center.
Furman improves to 8-2 overall while Presbyterian drops to 1-9 on the season.
Mary Beth Headley led the Paladins offensively with 13 kills on .225 hitting while
Ava Augustson turned in her second double-double of the season on 12 kills and 12 digs.
Izzy Castelloe matched her career high of nine kills. Playing in her first collegiate match,
Emily Navarro nearly missed on a double-double with 36 assists and nine digs.
Kennedy Seekford provided a match high 21 digs.
Kasey Battle had a match high 20 kills, to go with nine digs, for the Blue Hose while Hannah Rowe and Anna Baranski both had double-doubles. Rowe totaled 12 kills and 13 digs, and Baranski compiled 44 assists and 15 digs. Julia Yurkovich tallied 13 kills. Sophie Del Valle led Presbyterian defensively with 17 digs.
The Blue Hose jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the match after winning sets one and two by identical 25-15 scores. Furman responded by winning 26-24 in the third, 25-15 in the fourth, and 15-7 in the fifth to claim the victory. The victory was the first since last year's regular season finale at Western Carolina (November 12, 2022) that the Paladins trailed 2-0 and rallied back for the win.
The third set featured 19 ties and nine lead changes with Furman posting a .318 hitting percentage led by Augustson's five kills. Presbyterian was at set point leading 24-23 before the Paladins closed out the frame with three straight points. A kill by Headley and Blue Hose attack error gave Furman the 26-24 triumph.
The Paladins never trailed throughout the fourth set and used an 11-3 run to cruise to the victory. Leading 14-12 midway, Furman scored 11 of the next 14 points to record the 25-15 win. The Paladins collected seven consecutive points during the run and won the set when
Sydney Tanner connected on a kill. Furman hit over .300 for the second straight frame and limited Presbyterian to a .026 clip.
The Paladins did not register an attack error in the fifth set after opening on a 7-0 run. The Blue Hose got to within six late, but Furman secured the set 15-7 off Headley's kill. The Paladins had five different players pick up a kill during the final frame.
Furman concluded the match hitting .181 as a team.
The Paladins play their final non-conference match of the season Friday evening when they host Georgia State at 7 p.m. from Alley Gymnasium.
Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The match is being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will also be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB). Admission to all Paladin home matches this season is free of charge with first-come, first-serve seating.
