BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Izzy Castelloe and
Amber Watson both finished with double digit kills Friday afternoon to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-23) sweep of the Stetson Hatters on day one of the Fairfield Inn and Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational at Gore Arena/Pope Convocation Center.
Furman improves to 4-3 on the season while Stetson drops to 3-5 overall.
Castelloe led all players with a match high 13 kills for the Paladins on .417 hitting while Watson poured in 11 and hit .250.
Ashtan Dodson contributed eight kills, nine digs, and a career high four blocks.
Kacie Moore tallied six kills.
Emily Navarro posted 26 assists and seven digs, and
Morgan Baldridge added 10 assists and five digs. Defensively,
Rebekah Buchholz had a team best five blocks.
Andrea Diaz Dominguez paced the Hatters with nine kills and eight digs. Vanessa Shevchenko and Maia Keely Pou combined for 25 assists and 10 digs. Jannelize Perez finished with a match high 13 digs.
Furman hit .209 in the opening set and had to go into extra points before holding off Stetson for the 26-24 win. Watson led the team with five kills while Navarro contributed 12 assists and four digs. Three consecutive service aces from
Brooke Scheffler midway extended the Paladins' lead to 16-10 and Castelloe would keep it a six-point lead two plays later when her kill made the score 17-11. Stetson bounced back with an 8-2 run and tied the score at 19-19. The score would be tied four more times after that when back-to-back kills by Moore and Dodson secured the victory for Furman.
The Paladins came back in the second set to post a .314 hitting percentage and claimed a 25-21 triumph. Castelloe netted seven of her kills in the frame with Navarro compiling six assists and Dodson four digs. The Hatters started on an 11-4 run and led 14-9 midway. Furman responded with four straight points and trailed 14-13 after a bad set from Stetson.
Campbell Woods would even the score at 16-16 and Dodson followed with two straight kills to give the Paladins an 18-16 lead. The Hatters held a late 20-19 cushion but saw Furman close out on a 6-1 run. Buchholz posted two blocks in the later stages with her last, a combination block with Castelloe, putting the Paladins at set point. Furman captured the set the next play after a Stetson attack error.
The Paladins captured the match with a 25-23 victory in the third set. Six different Furman players totaled a kill in the frame highlighted by five from Watson and four by Castelloe. Navarro dished out eight assists and Baldridge six. Baldridge and Dodson both had three digs. The Paladins began on a 12-4 run and held an eight-point lead on Baldridge's service ace. The Hatters cut the lead down to three when Furman broke the set open with a 10-6 run and sat at set point, 24-17, when Woods connected on a kill. Stetson made a late rally, scoring six consecutive points, before Watson clinched the contest with her kill.
The Paladins concluded the match hitting .218 overall and led 47-30 in kills, and 44-29 in assists. Both teams finished with seven blocks.
Furman wraps up the Fairfield Inn and Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational on Saturday with a pair of matches against Ball State and tournament host Campbell. The Paladins will face Ball State at 1 p.m. and Campbell at 5 p.m. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The match versus Campbell is being streamed via paid subscription on FloCollege. Updates will be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).
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