CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tennyson Gorman had a team high 10 kills on Friday afternoon to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-14) sweep of the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at the Charlotte Invitational from Charlotte's Halton Arena.
Furman improves to 8-3 overall while Maryland Eastern Shore drops to 3-9 on the season.
Gorman, a sophomore from Franklin, Tenn., paced the Paladin attack hitting .769 while adding three assisted blocks.
Ashley Stein contributed seven kills and
Izzy Castelloe six.
Emily Navarro dished out 17 assists and
Quinn Morrissey provided 11.
Kennedy Seekford led all players with nine digs.
Nkemjika Ikemefuna led the Hawks with 10 kills and Jayda Hutchins totaled 17 assists. Valeria Matias had a team best eight digs.
Furman combined to hit .400 in the opening set while limiting Maryland Eastern Shore to just a .040 clip. The Paladins started the match with a 7-2 run and led 15-8 midway following Navarro's service ace. UMES cut the advantage down to four, 17-13, before Furman scored four of the next five points to go in front, 21-14, on Stein's service ace. A Maryland Eastern Shore attack error gave the Paladins the 25-17 win. Stein led the team with four kills, Navarro dished out seven assists, and Seekford registered six digs.
Furman raced out to an early 6-2 lead in the second set before the Hawks made the score 7-5 with a kill. The Paladins broke the set open courtesy of an 8-1 run and took a 15-6 lead off a service ace from Seekford.
Kacie Moore maintained Furman's nine-point lead when her solo block put the score at 19-10. Maryland Eastern Shore got as close as four, but the Paladins closed out the set on a 5-1 run. Gorman clinched the set, 25-17, with her kill. The Hawks were held to negative hitting at -.097 as Furman recorded six blocks. Castelloe hit .429 in the frame and led the Paladins with four kills. Morrissey added six assists and five digs.
The Paladins compiled a .370 hitting percentage in the third set with UMES hitting just .033. Furman never trailed in the frame and started on an 8-3 run, taking a five-point lead on a Maryland Eastern Shore attack error. The Hawks cut the Paladins' lead down to five, 15-10, midway until Furman ended the match outscoring UMES 10-4. The Paladins recorded the final six points and clinched the set, 25-14, for the three-set sweep on a
Brooke Scheffler kill.
Furman concluded the match hitting .295 as a team and limited the Hawks to -.012. The Paladins held a 33-26 advantage in kills and assists, and 32-31 in digs. Furman also registered double digit blocks for the seventh time this season, finishing with 10 highlighted by Moore's team best five.
The Paladins conclude their non-conference schedule Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. facing Ohio on the final day of the Charlotte Invitational. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. Updates will be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).
Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases.
