Box Score
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GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Davidson volleyball team couldn't overcome a Furman squad that hit .287 as the 'Cats fell 3-0 to the Paladins in the opening match of Southern Conference play on Friday night at Alley Gymnasium. The Paladins took the match with set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-20.
Tindall Sewell's attacking percentage of .353 and
Caroline Brown's eight kills led the 'Cats, who fall to 4-7 on the season.
Ariel Ley had 22 assists and ten digs while also coming up with a pair of kills. Ley added in two service aces as well, as did Brown.
Molly Crenshaw finished with 16 digs to lead the defense, while Brown recorded 11 digs and a block solo and block assist in the match.
Hannah Rau also had a block solo for the Wildcats, who hit .132 on the evening.
A trio of Paladins finished with double-digit kills, led by Natalie Braun's 17 and .548 attacking percentage. Christina Dorismond hit .350 with 10 kills, while Chandler Ambrester added in 11 kills and nine digs. Elle Ross recorded 20 digs on the evening, while Jo Wilks had 39 assists. Braun added in 11 digs as well for a double-double.
“We came in here knowing that Furman has a high-caliber offense,” said head coach
Chris Willis. “We had a solid defensive game plan and though we made some great plays, we just couldn't execute it at that level. Furman just had enough for the win.”
The Paladins may have picked up the first point, but the 'Cats would battle back to take a slim 3-2 lead on a kill by
Taylor Pisel. Furman returned the favor to take a 6-4 lead but proceeded to commit a pair of errors to give Davidson the 7-6 advantage. Four straight points by the Paladins put them in front 11-7, but a pair of kills by Brown and one from
Morgan Shannon cut the deficit to two points. Despite a pair of kills from Sewell, the Wildcats couldn't regain the lead and a pair of Davidson errors ended the set with the Paladins picking up the 25-18 win.
The 'Cats picked up the first few points of the second set before the Paladins scored five straight to take a 7-4 lead. Two kills from Brown and one from Sewell cut the deficit to two at 9-7. Ley then came up with two big plays, saving a ball from going out of bounds and sending it over for a kill before picking up service ace on the next play to tie the set at 9-9. Brown had a service ace soon after as the 'Cats took an 11-10 lead, but Furman came up with three straight points to regain the lead at 13-11. Kills from
Megan Chamberlin kept Davidson within two, but the Paladins went on an 8-1 scoring run to claim set two by a score of 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Davidson took a 2-0 lead in set three on a service ace by Brown, but Furman struck back with a pair of kills from Dorismond and Braun for the 2-2 tie. Sewell and Chamberlin had back-to-back kills, followed by a Furman error as the 'Cats took a 7-5 advantage. Bruan then recorded consecutive kills for the Paladins, along with a Peyton Frappier service ace to give Furman the lead at 8-7. The squads traded points to an 11-11 tie before a kill by Armbrester and back-to-back Davidson errors put the Paladins in front 14-11. The Paladins recorded three consecutive points to move ahead by four and a block by Curry and Adams made it five. Sewell and Brown worked to erase the deficit as each recorded a kill as Paladin miscues brought the 'Cats within three. However, Frappier had back-to-back service aces before a kill by Braun ended the set at 25-20 to give the Paladins the 3-0 win in the match.
The 'Cats will head to Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday to face Wofford in a 6 p.m. match up.