GREENVILLE, S.C. – Ashley Stein recorded 12 kills and
Lauren Haynes contributed a double-double to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-19) sweep of the Samford Bulldogs in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon inside Alley Gymnasium.
Furman has now won four matches in a row improving to 11-3 overall and 2-0 in the SoCon. With the loss, Samford drops to 5-8 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. The victory marks the first time since 2017 that the Paladins have defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 in back-to-back matches including a three-set win last year in Greenville.
Stein guided the Furman offense with 12 kills on .440 hitting while Haynes added her first double-double of the season with 11 kills and a season high 14 digs.
Quinn Morrissey (18) and
Emily Navarro (16) combined for 34 digs.
Hayley Dionis finished with a career high 12 digs.
Sydney Waller led all players with 15 kills for Samford. Shea Bruntmyer dished out 26 assists and Kaleigh Meritt totaled 11 digs.
The Paladins compiled a .268 hitting percentage in the opening set led by five kills each from Haynes and Stein. Haynes also compiled six digs and Morrissey tallied seven assists. Trailing 15-13 midway, Furman came out of the media timeout on a 5-2 run and went ahead 18-17 on
Ashtan Dodson's service ace. The Bulldogs came back to take a 23-21 lead late, forcing the Paladins into their final timeout. Furman scored four straight points after the timeout to claim the 25-23 win.
The second set featured nine ties with the Paladins securing the 25-20 victory. Furman hit .250 as a team with
Izzy Castelloe posting three kills and four others had two. Morrissey dished out six assists and Dionis turned in five digs. The teams traded the first 22 points before the Paladins reeled off five consecutive points to lead 16-11 following Morrissey's service ace. Furman would build its lead out to seven points twice with the last coming at 24-17 off Haynes' service ace. Samford got to within four before
Tennyson Gorman sealed the set with her kill.
The Paladins limited the Bulldogs to just .077 hitting in the third set while registering a .265 clip. Stein and Haynes combined for nine of the team's 14 kills with Morrissey and Navarro each having five assists. Dionis recorded five digs defensively. Furman never trailed throughout the set and took an early 8-4 lead when Haynes connected on a kill. The Paladins would then take an 11-6 lead to force Samford into a timeout. Furman outscored the Bulldogs 5-2 after the break and took its largest lead of the set at 22-13 on a kill by Stein. Samford staged a late rally with a 6-1 run, but Haynes posted back-to-back kills to secure the 25-19 set win, and 3-0 match victory, for the Paladins.
Furman concluded the contest hitting .262 and held the Bulldogs to a .133 mark. The Paladins led 43-37 in kills, 38-37 in assists, and tied Samford with 46 digs. For the ninth time this season, Furman finished with double digit blocks at 10. Gorman paced the Paladin defense with seven assisted blocks.
Furman remains at Alley Gymnasium next week, October 2-3, hosting Mercer and The Citadel. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. Both matches are being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will 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.
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