ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Furman volleyball team stepped back into action Friday splitting a pair of matches against the East Carolina Pirates and West Georgia Wolves on the first day of the Bulldog Invitational at UNC Asheville's Justice Center.

Furman moves to 3-2 on the season. East Carolina improved to 4-0 overall while West Georgia dropped to 0-5 for the year. The Paladins began the day falling to the Pirates, 3-1, before picking up a 3-0 sweep of the Wolves.

Match 1 – Furman 1, East Carolina 3
Ellie Pate and Taryn Gilreath both recorded double-doubles to lift East Carolina to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17) victory over Furman in the Paladins' first match of the day.

Tennyson Gorman paced Furman with 10 kills while Izzy Castelloe provided nine and Kacie Moore, playing in her first collegiate match, eight. Emily Navarro turned in her second double-double of the season with 23 assists and 11 digs. Quinn Morrissey provided 14 assists. Defensively, Kennedy Seekford led the team with 17 digs and Gorman totaled six assisted blocks.

Pate registered 13 kills and 12 digs for the Pirates and Gilreath dished out 40 assists to go with 12 digs. Sydney Buchanan tied Pate with 13 kills and Brooklyn Allison led all players with 18 digs.

The Paladins began the match on a 7-0 run in the first set before East Carolina responded with a 20-8 run and went on to capture the frame, 25-22. Furman hit .132 for the set with Gorman leading the team with three kills. Navarro had five assists and was one of three players to have four digs along with Seekford and Ashtan Dodson.

The second set went into extra points before Furman held off the Pirates for a 27-25 triumph to even the match at 1-1. The Paladins built an early 9-5 lead and held a 22-17 advantage late after an East Carolina service error. The Pirates rallied back to sit at set point leading 25-24. A kill from Seekford and ECU ball handling error would then put Furman at set point ahead 26-25. Dodson secured the set with her service ace. The Paladins compiled a .136 hitting percentage with seven different players recording a kill led by Castelloe's four. Navarro contributed six assists and Seekford four digs.

The Pirates would go on to capture the match with a 25-19 win in set three and 25-17 in the fourth. Furman was limited to .000 hitting during the third set with Castelloe, Gorman, and Campbell Woods all tallying three kills. Navarro added six assists and Seekford four digs. In the fourth set, the Paladins had a -.026 hitting percentage and Moore finished with four kills. Navarro totaled another six assists and Seekford posted five digs.

Furman concluded the match hitting .063 and had 46 kills, 42 assists, 61 digs, and seven blocks.

Match 2 – West Georgia 0, Furman 3
The Paladins used a balanced offensive attack to defeat West Georgia 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22) for the second consecutive weekend.

A total of four players had seven or more kills led by Gorman's nine on .333 hitting. Castelloe and Ashley Stein both collected eight while Amber Watson, who made her first collegiate start in the contest, added seven. Morrissey (22) and Navarro (13) combined for 35 of the team's 39 assists. Stein and Seekford both led the team with eight digs.

Valiree Schmus had a team best 12 kills for the Wolves with Desha Van Veldhuizen and Addy Franz teaming up for 19 assists. Olivia Kremer posted eight digs.

Furman held West Georgia to -.241 hitting in the first set and never trailed leading to a 25-16 win. The Paladins scored five of the initial six points and built 12-5 lead early following a Wolves attack error. West Georgia would get to within four points, 17-13, when Furman closed out the set on an 8-3 run. A service error clinched the set for the Paladins. Gorman and Stein combined for seven kills while Morrissey dished out five assists and Seekford finished with four digs.

For the second straight set, Furman never trailed en route to the 25-20 triumph. The Wolves cut Furman's lead to 10-9 early in the set, but the Paladins responded with a 10-5 run and extended their advantage out to 20-14 in the later stages after a West Georgia attack error and kill from Grainne McGrath. The Wolves rallied late and got to within three points twice. Furman recorded the final two points on back-to-back kills by Castelloe and Stein for the five-point victory. Gorman led the Paladins again with four kills and Stein added three kills and four digs. Morrissey dished out eight assists.

The third set featured six ties and three lead changes with Furman hitting .263 as a team to clinch the match with a 25-22 win. West Georgia held an early 10-7 lead before Furman answered by scoring five of the next seven points to go ahead 12-10 on Moore's kill. The Wolves took the lead back midway at 18-17, but the Paladins captured the match after ending on an 8-4 run. Castelloe secured the set, and match, for Furman with her kill. Watson led the team with five kills on .333 hitting while Morrissey contributed nine assists and Stein three digs.

The Paladins finished with a .202 hitting percentage and held West Georgia to .033, the lowest by a Furman opponent this season. The Paladins held a 41-23 advantage in kills, 39-20 in assists, and 36-25 in digs.

Up Next
Furman plays its final match of the Bulldog Invitational Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. versus tournament host UNC Asheville.

Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The match is being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).

Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases.