Women's Volleyball 10/8/2005 7:00:00 PM UNCGSpartans.com

UNCG women's volleyball team drops 3-1 decision to Furman

Box Score

GREENSBORO, NC Whitney Purser and Chibuzo Aguocha notched 18 kills apiece to lead Furman to a 3-1 win over UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference women's volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gym. Hilary Overby and Kaitlyn Nortz led the Spartans with 16 and 11 kills respectively in a losing effort.

After Furman cruised to a 30-18 win in the opening game, UNCG (2-14, 1-5 SoCon) answered back with a 30-22 victory to square the match 1-1. The Spartans hit an impressive .371 in game two. A kill by Furman's Aguocha got the Paladins to within one point, 15-14, but UNCG rattled off three straight points, including a kill by freshman Liz Benzschawel, that put the Spartans up 18-14. The home team never looked back as they dominated the remainder of the second game.

In game three, Furman (7-10, 3-4 SoCon) broke open a 10-10 affair by scoring nine of the next 13 points to take a 19-14 lead after an Aguocha service ace. UNCG never got any closer than three points, 20-17, before the Lady Paladins closed the game out by scoring the final four points for a 30-23 win in game three.

Game four saw Furman jump out to an early 12-5 advantage, before the Spartans took their first lead of the game, 14-13 on a Paladin attack error. The game was tied, 20-20, for the final time before Furman scored four straight points to take a 24-20 lead. The Paladins would not surrender the lead from that point and Purser put the final touches on the match with a kill to close things out.

Overby, the junior from Spring, TX, had 14 digs to go along with her team-leading 16 kills. Sophomore Lauren Keiser also came up with 14 digs, while sophomore Alysia Rosvold had 13 digs to her credit. Senior Adrian Hicks had 40 assists.

Celestee Wilson added 10 kills for Furman to give the visitors three players in double-figures in kills. Molly Rybak doled out a match-high 51 assists and had 12 digs. Kim Tonkin paced the Furman defensive effort with 21 digs. Purser and Ally Hock contributed 12 and 11 digs respectively.

UNCG returns to Fleming Gym tomorrow when SoCon rival Wofford comes to town for a 2 pm contest. Meanwhile, Furman will host Wofford on Tuesday at 7 pm in Greenville, SC.

AGATE

Furman def. UNC Greensboro 3-1 (30-18,22-30,30-23,30-27)

Furman (7-10 (3-4 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Whitney Purser 18-1-1; Chibuzo Aguocha 18-5-2; Celestee Wilson 10-0-4; Ally Hock 9-0-3; Kerry Wooten 7-2-3; Molly Rybak 2-1-0; Totals 64-9-8.0. (Assists) Molly Rybak 51. (Dig leaders) - Kim Tonkin 21; Whitney Purser 12; Molly Rybak 12; Ally Hock 11.

UNC Greensboro (2-14 (1-5 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Hilary Overby 16-1-1; Kaitlyn Nortz 11-1-3; Lauren Keiser 8-0-3; Lauren Richards 8-0-4; Liz Benzschawel 6-0-1; Adrian Hicks 3-0-2; Lori Collins 1-0-0; Alysia Rosvold 0-1-0; Totals 53-3-7.0. (Assists) - Adrian Hicks 40. (Dig leaders) - Lauren Keiser 14; Hilary Overby 14; Alysia Rosvold 13; Adrian Hicks 8.