ATHENS, GA. – The Furman volleyball team opened its 2026 season on Friday by splitting a pair of matches against the George Washington Revolutionaries and North Florida Ospreys on day one of the Classic City Clash from Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum.
Furman moves to 1-1 on the season. The loss dropped George Washington to 0-1 overall and North Florida improved to 1-1.
The Paladins began tournament play with a 3-2 (13-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14) win over George Washington before dropping a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 18-25, 18-25) decision to North Florida.
Match 1 – George Washington vs. Furman
Izzy Castelloe led three Paladins in double figure kills as they rallied for a five-set victory, giving Furman its second consecutive season-opening victory.
Castelloe's team best 14 kills paced the Paladin offense with
Kacie Moore and
Amber Watson turning in 10 apiece.
Emily Navarro recorded her first double-double of the season with 31 assists and 12 digs and
Morgan Baldridge, making her collegiate debut, dished out 17 assists. Defensively,
Kennedy Seekford tied for a match high with 20 digs and
Rebekah Buchholz compiled five blocks.
Alexis Rodriguez led all players with 16 kills for George Washington and added a double-double on 12 digs. Abby Markworth contributed a double-double of 38 assists and 17 digs. Lydia Zeng matched Seekford's 20 digs and Yazmyn Billings and Riley Samuel both totaled four blocks.
Furman was limited to just .056 hitting in the first set as the Revolutionaries cruised to a 25-13 win. Castelloe recorded four kills, Navarro eight assists, and
Brooke Scheffler five digs.
The Paladins bounced back in the second set by holding George Washington to under .000 hitting with a -.077 clip as they evened the score with a 26-24 triumph. Castelloe had four more kills, Navarro seven assists, and three players added four digs. Furman began on a 12-7 run and took its largest lead of 16-10 midway when Castelloe connected on a kill. The Revolutionaries rallied back and sat at set point, 24-23, when
Lauren Haynes tied the score the following play. A pair of George Washington attack errors gave the Paladins the win.
The Revolutionaries answered with a 25-22 victory in the third set and the Paladins sent the match into a fifth set following their 25-17 triumph in the fourth. Furman hit .243 in the third but saw George Washington turn in a .324 percentage. Three Paladins registered three kills while Navarro had six assists and Seekford five digs. Furman's offense compiled a .342 hitting mark in the fourth set with Castelloe and Moore leading the team with four kills. Navarro provided seven assists and Seekford six digs.
The Paladins reeled off 13 of the first 20 points in the fourth and built a 13-7 lead following Castelloe's kill. The Revolutionaries got as close as six points, 16-10, when Furman answered with a 7-3 run.
Ashtan Dodson's kill extended Furman's advantage to 23-13 and clinched the set when Buchholz and Castelloe teamed up for a block.
The fifth set featured nine ties and five lead changes as the Paladins secured the match with a 16-14 win. Watson's three kills guided the Furman offense with Baldridge and Navarro both tallying three assists. Seekford posted three digs. The Paladins held an early 7-5 lead, capped by Baldridge's service ace, when George Washington responded by taking a late 13-12 lead. The teams traded the next four points when Furman clinched the match on a service ace and combination block.
Furman concluded the contest hitting .176 as a team and led 56-51 in kills and 54-47 in assists. The Paladins combined for 10 blocks in the match.
Match 2 – Furman 1, North Florida 3
Kaili Doctor had a match high 28 kills to lead the Ospreys to a four-set triumph over Furman.
Castelloe and Watson both led the Paladins with 10 kills apiece while Baldridge and Navarro both dished out 19 assists. Dodson had a team best 16 digs and Seekford added 15. Moore collected three blocks.
Doctor hit .490 to pace the North Florida offense and Dakota Spurrier had 15 kills. Sofia Dawson recorded a double-double of 50 assists and 14 digs. Four different Ospreys boasted 10 or more digs led by Emma Pohlmann's match high 18.
The score was tied a total of eight times in the opening set and saw Furman hold a 19-16 advantage in the later stages on
Lindsay Walch's kill. The Ospreys would tie the score at 20-20 when the Paladins closed out the set on a 5-1 run. A North Florida service error secured the set for Furman.
The Ospreys captured the next three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-18, and 25-18 to clinch the four-set victory. In the second set, Castelloe led the Paladins four kills, Baldridge and Navarro five assists each, and Dodson four digs. Castelloe and Watson recorded three kills in the third set, Navarro seven assists, and Dodson eight digs. The fourth set saw Watson lead the team with three kills, Navarro five assists, and Seekford four digs.
Furman posted a .193 hitting percentage and finished with 57 digs, 48 kills, 44 assists, and three blocks.
Up Next
The Paladins close out play at the Classic City Clash on Saturday evening against tournament host Georgia at 6 p.m. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The game is being streamed via paid subscription on SEC Network +. Updates will be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).
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