JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – Makayla Bays and Isabelle Iosua combined for 26 kills on Tuesday evening to lead the East Tennessee State Buccaneers to a 3-0 (20-25, 19-25, 22-25) victory over the Furman volleyball team in Southern Conference action at Brooks Gymnasium.
Furman drops to 8-11 overall and 2-6 in the SoCon. With the win, ETSU improves to 14-8 on the year and 6-4 in conference play.
Ava Augustson led the Paladins offensively with nine kills while
Chandler Parker and
Grainne McGrath both contributed six.
Quinn Morrissey dished out 12 assists and
Emily Navarro compiled 10 and seven assists.
Kennedy Seekford totaled a team best 21 digs and Augustson and
Ashley Stein posted 12 and 10, respectively.
Bays led all players for the Buccaneers with a match high 15 kills and added nine digs. Iosua recorded 11 kills. Reese Rhodes registered 38 assists and Melanie Morris had a match high 24 digs.
Furman dropped the opening set, 25-20, that saw the score tied a total of 10 times. Stein led the team with three kills with Navarro and Morrissey combining for nine assists. Seekford collected nine digs. East Tennessee State held a late 22-17 lead before the Paladins came out of a timeout to score three straight points to trail 22-20 on
Izzy Castelloe's kill. ETSU scored the final three points to clinch the set.
East Tennessee State followed with a 25-19 triumph in the second frame to take a two-set lead over Furman. Parker and McGrath led the Paladins with four kills apiece while Navarro dished out five assists. Seekford tallied five digs. Furman led by two points midway with Castelloe giving it a 17-15 advantage following her kill. The Buccaneers closed out the set on a 10-2 run for the six-point win.
ETSU closed out the match with a 25-22 victory in the third set. The Paladins compiled a .186 hitting percentage led by Augustson's five kills on .444 hitting. Navarro and Morrissey combined for 10 of the team's 11 assists and Seekford had seven digs along with Augustson. The Buccaneers led 14-9 early in the set until Furman came back to hold a 22-21 lead in the later stages when Augustson connected on a kill. ETSU scored the last four points to win by three.
The Paladins concluded the match hitting .113 overall while both teams finished with seven blocks.
Furman remains on the road this weekend, November 1-2, traveling to Western Carolina and Chattanooga. The Paladins face Western Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. and Chattanooga on Saturday at 4 p.m.
