CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Furman volleyball team outlasted Western Carolina, 3-2 (25-14, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12), Friday in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, N.C.
With the win, the Paladins improve to 9-11 overall and 3-6 in SoCon play, while the Catamounts drop to 7-16, 1-9 versus league competition. The victory was the fourth-straight for Furman over Western Carolina, and marked the longest winning streak over the Catamounts since 2014-16, when the Paladins also scored four-consecutive victories in the series.
Sophomore Izzy Castelloe hit .417 and posted a career-high 19 kills to lead the Paladins, while freshman Tennyson Gorman hit .407 and notched a career-high 14 kills, while pacing the team with six block assists. Freshman Quinn Morrissey recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 35 assists and a career-high 17 digs.
Senior Ava Augustson also registered a double-double, her second of the year, with 10 kills and 16 digs, while freshman Ashley Stein recorded a career high with 17 digs. Sophomore Kennedy Seekford paced Furman with 18 digs, and senior Chandler Parker added 15 kills and five block assists.
Zoe Zudans led the Catamounts with 22 kills, and Katie Boney dished out a match-high 51 assists. Eda Yalcinkaya posted 31 digs to lead Western Carolina.
Furman jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in set one before Western Carolina tied the match at 7-7. Two kills from Gorman fueled an 8-3 Paladins run to give Furman a 15-10 advantage, and the Paladins cruised to a 25-14 victory in set one. The second set featured ten ties and four lead changes with the Catamounts winning the final two points for a 25-23 victory to even the slate at 1-1 going into the break.
Western Carolina took a quick 7-2 lead in set three, but Furman battled back to tie the score at 13-13. The teams were tied at 14, 15, and 16 before a Catamount attack error, followed by a kill from Augustson, gave Furman the lead, which the Paladins never relinquished en route to a 25-23 set win.
The Catamounts answered with a 25-22 win in set four to force a decisive set five. A kill by Augustson gave Furman a 7-4 lead in the final set before Western Carolina went on a 4-1 run to tie the set at 8-apiece. After the teams were deadlocked at 9-all, the Paladins reeled off four-straight points from three-straight kills by Parker and a Catamount error, taking a 13-9 advantage. Western Carolina scored three of the next four points, but a final kill from Stein sealed the 15-12 victory.
The Paladins finished the match with a .231 hitting percentage while holding Western Carolina to a .193 hitting percentage. Furman held a 69-62 advantage in kills, 61-59 in assists, and 11.0 to 7.0 in blocks.
Furman will continue its road trip with a 4 p.m. contest at Chattanooga on Saturday. The match is being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will also be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).
