GREENVILLE, S.C. – Chandler Parker's 11 kills paced a Furman offensive attack Wednesday evening that saw five players record nine or more in a 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16) victory over the Presbyterian College Blue Hose at Alley Gymnasium.
Furman improves to 5-4 overall while Presbyterian drops to 3-8 on the season.
Parker's 11 kills led the Paladins offensively while
Genevieve Perry contributed 10 and six blocks.
Ava Augustson,
Izzy Castelloe, and
Mary Beth Headley all finished with nine kills. Augustson led the team with 16 digs while
Kennedy Seekford added 14 and Headley 10.
Eva Wheeler set a new career high with 29 assists and tallied eight digs.
Quinn Morrissey provided 16 assists and five digs.
Courtney Williams led all players with 16 kills for the Blue Hose. Hannah Rowe (19 digs, 11 kills) and Anna Baranski (37 assists, 16 digs) both registered double-doubles. Celimar Hoyos tallied 15 digs.
Presbyterian jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after securing the first set, 25-15, on .429 hitting. Furman answered back to win the final three sets to collect its 13
th consecutive victory over the Blue Hose.
Six different players recorded a kill in the second set as the Paladins compiled a .216 hitting percentage. Furman started on a 7-2 run before Presbyterian outscored the Paladins 17-10 to hold a 19-17 lead late. Furman responded with a 7-2 run to go ahead, 24-21, on Castelloe's kill. The Blue Hose posted the next two points before a kill by Headley clinched the set for the Paladins.
Furman would hit .325 during the third set with Parker, Castelloe, and Perry combining for 12 of its 17 kills. The Paladins trailed 7-6 early before Wheeler's service ace evened the score. That sparked a 17-8 run to give Furman its largest lead of the set at 23-15 when Parker and Castelloe combined for a kill. Presbyterian made a late rally to trail by four before back-to-back kills from Parker and Perry gave the Paladins the 25-19 triumph.
Furman never trailed in the fourth set while limiting the Blue Hose to just .128 hitting. The Paladins scored four of the first five points but held a slight 10-9 lead following an attack error. Furman broke the set open courtesy of an 11-6 run to build a 21-15 lead after Augustson recorded a kill. The Paladins closed out the match scoring three consecutive points, capped by a combination block from Headley and Perry, for the 25-16 win.
Furman concluded the match hitting .245 overall and held a 55-53 advantage in kills and 53-44 in assists. The Paladins also led in blocks, 8.0-7.0.
Furman travels to Clemson, S.C., on Friday to face Kennesaw State at 2 p.m. from Clemson's Jervey Gym. The Paladins then return to Alley Gymnasium on Saturday to host Clemson at 2 p.m.
Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. Saturday's match against Clemson 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.