GREENVILLE, S.C. – Izzy Castelloe and
Kacie Moore both finished with 11 kills Friday evening to lift the Furman volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) sweep of the Chattanooga Mocs in Southern Conference action from Timmons Arena.
Furman improves to 8-7 overall and evens its SoCon record at 2-2. The loss drops Chattanooga to 5-11 on the season and 0-4 in league play.
The duo of Castelloe and Moore both hit over .400 to lead the Paladins with Castelloe turning in a .450 clip and Moore .526.
Morgan Baldridge had a team high 17 assists and
Emily Navarro provided 16 assists and seven digs.
Ashtan Dodson collected 11 digs and
Tennyson Gorman eight blocks.
Gracie Rose led the Mocs with nine kills. Mallory Merz and Ashley Reynolds combined for 30 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, Caiti Barthel provided a match high 13 digs.
Castelloe and Moore teamed up for nine of Furman's 16 kills in the first set as the Paladins held on for a 25-22 win. Furman compiled a .286 hitting percentage with Moore totaling five kills, Baldridge eight assists, and Dodson five digs. The Paladins began on a 7-2 run and, leading 8-6, registered eight of the next 11 points to build a 16-9 lead out of the media timeout on Castelloe's kill. Moore would later put Furman ahead, 18-12, with her kill. Chattanooga rallied to within two points when Moore's kill secured the set.
The Paladins compiled a .281 hitting percentage in the second set and limited the Mocs to a .129 clip to pick up the 25-20 victory. Eight different players recorded a kill in the frame led by Castelloe's four. Navarro added eight assists and Dodson and Seekford both had three digs. Furman fell behind 7-3 to begin the set and then went on a 9-5 run to tie the score when a kill from
Campbell Woods made it 12-12. Gorman later put the Paladins ahead, 15-13, but Chattanooga answered with the next two points. The score would be tied a total of three times after that before Furman closed out the set on a 7-2 run. Leading 21-20, the Paladins reeled off four consecutive points and claimed the set on
Lauren Haynes' kill.
Furman secured the match with a 25-16 triumph in the third set. The Paladins turned in a .364 hitting mark and held the Mocs to .073 as a team. Moore and Woods both produced four kills, Baldridge five assists, and Haynes four digs. The Paladins scored seven of the opening nine points and took a five-point lead when Moore and Woods combined for a block. Furman took a six-point advantage at the media timeout and later extended its lead to 17-9 after a Chattanooga attack error. The Mocs cut the Paladins' lead down to 17-13 when Furman answered with four straight points, capped by Gorman's kill, to hold a 21-13 advantage highlighted by back-to-back combination blocks from Gorman and Woods. The Paladins secured the final three points to capture the set and match.
Furman concluded the contest hitting over .300 for the second time this season, finishing at .310. The Paladins held a 45-34 advantage in kills, 42-32 in assists, and 47-38 in digs.
Furman travels to Charleston, S.C., next Tuesday, October 6, to face The Citadel in a midweek conference matchup at 6 p.m.
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