Cullowhee, N.C. – Lauren Haynes posted her second double-double of the season Friday evening as the Furman volleyball team opened Southern Conference play with a 3-2 (17-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 15-11) victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts inside the Ramsey Center.

Furman improves to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the SoCon. With the loss, Western Carolina drops to 4-9 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. Paladin head coach Michelle Young now sits only one win away from 400 in her career.

Haynes, a sophomore from Smyrna, Ga., led all players with a match high 21 kills on .230 hitting while contributing 11 digs. Lindsay Walch provided 12 kills on .440 hitting. Ella Abraham contributed 35 assists and eight digs, and Kennedy Seekford had a team best 22 digs. Mary Beth Headley also totaled 11 digs.

Ali Morris and Bailey Hartsough both paced the Catamounts with double-doubles. Morris compiled 17 kills and 22 digs while Hartsough had 12 kills and 17 digs. Logan Carr also recorded 10 kills. Sarah Janourova added a double-double of 25 assists and 15 digs.

Furman trailed 2-1 heading into the fourth set following Western Carolina's 25-21 victory in the third frame. The Catamounts captured the opening set 25-17 before the Paladins answered with a 25-23 win in the second.

Furman would hit .417 during the fourth set with Haynes contributing six kills and Abraham and Emily Navarro combining for 14 assists. The teams traded the first 10 points of the set before the Paladins broke the scoring open courtesy of a 10-3 run, going ahead 15-8 following a Western Carolina attack error. After a Catamount timeout, Furman outscored the hosts 10-6 the rest of the way to secure the 25-14 triumph. Haynes and Walch gave the Paladins the win with back-to-back kills.

The fifth set saw the score tied a total of seven times with the last coming at 9-9 off a Western Carolina kill. Furman closed out the set on a 6-2 run with Haynes and Walch teaming up for three kills. Kaeli Braswell won the set, and match, for the Paladins with her service ace.

Furman has now won back-to-back meetings over the Catamounts in five sets and was its first conference-opening win since defeating Wofford 3-2 in Spartanburg on September 22, 2021.

The Paladins concluded the match hitting .206 as a team and totaled 11 blocks led by Grainne McGrath's six (five assisted, one solo).

Furman is back in action on Saturday traveling to Johnson City, Tenn. for a 6 p.m. first serve at East Tennessee State. 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).