GREENVILLE, SC – The UNC Greensboro volleyball team dropped their second consecutive Southern Conference game with a 3-1 loss to Furman at Alley Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
UNCG (14-13, 7-6 SoCon) was led by Kaitlyn Nortz who tallied 15 kills on the afternoon. Teammate Branagan Fuller also added 10 kills in the loss. The Spartans had three players with double-digit digs with Lauren Keiser leading the way with 19 digs. Catherine Hanners and Lisa Fawell had 17 and 11 digs, respectively.
Alison West led Furman (17-6, 10-3 SoCon) with 19 kills and 20 digs on the afternoon. Courtney Stewardson also added a match-high 50 assists in the win for the Lady Paladins. Nicole Palazzo also added a match-high 15 blocks.
The opening game saw Furman roar out to a 7-0 lead behind kills from West, Stewardson and Kerry Wooten. The Spartans would try to get back into the game but couldn't match the Furman offensive momentum as Furman took game one, 30-14.
Game two was much closer from the outset and featured two ties in the opening minutes. The teams were able to match each other point-for-point but with Furman holding a 23-18 lead, the Lady Paladins went on a 7-4 run to close the game and took a 2-0 match lead with a 30-22 win heading into the intermission.
In the third game Furman was able to take an early 2-0 lead but UNCG was able to regroup and rattled off 10 points to take a 10-6 lead. The Spartans wouldn't look back and ran their lead to 18-6 with kills from Kayren Finney and Fuller. Furman got as close as 18-15 but UNCG kept its composure and took the game, 30-20.
The fourth game was all Furman as the Lady Paladins jumped out to an early 13-6 lead. The Spartans tried to challenge and used offense from Fuller and Nortz but they couldn't find a way to stop Furman as the Lady Paladins took the final game 30-15.
Furman held UNCG to a 0.99 hitting percentage for the match while posting a .333 hitting percentage. Furman also posted a match-high 20 team blocks.
The Spartans are next in action Sunday when they head to Spartanburg, SC to take on Wofford. First serve is set for 2 pm.
AGATE
Furman def. UNCG 30-14,30-22,20-30,30-15
UNCG (14-13, 7-6 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Nortz 15-0-2;Branagan Fuller 10-0-2; Kayren Finney 8-0-2; Katherine Hart 6-0-1; Lauren Keiser 5-1-1; Alissa Beaudway 3-0-0; Emily Lindborg 1-0-0; Lisa Fawell 1-0-0; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Totals 49-2-4.0. (Assists) – Lisa Fawell 22; Kimiko Naito 16. (Dig leaders) - Lauren Keiser 19;Catherine Hanners 17; Lisa Fawell 11; Kayleigh Knerr 8
Furman (17-6, 10-3 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Alison West 19-3-2; Chibuzo Aguocha 15-0-3; Nicole Palazzo 12-0-15; Kerry Wooten 9-1-4; Emily Harby 3-0-8; Courtney Stewardson 2-0-1; Totals 60-4-20.0. (Assists) - Courtney Stewardson 50. (Dig leaders) - Alison West 20; Courtney Stewardson 15; Brooke Ellison 11; Chibuzo Aguocha 10
- UNCG -
