GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNCG volleyball team found itself in a battle at Furman Saturday, but the Paladins broke a 1-1 deadlock with wins in the final two sets to top the Spartans 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16) inside Alley Gym.

The match was a quick turnaround from last night's contest at ETSU as UNCG (9-7, 2-2 SoCon) traveled to Greenville from Johnson City Friday evening and played this match at 2 p.m.

A rested Paladin (11-4, 4-0 SoCon) side that had not played since Wednesday took advantage of the extra days off and hit .320 in the match while holding the visiting Spartans to a .169 clip. Furman also out-dug UNCG 55-46 and recorded 14 blocks as compared to the Spartans' eight. The Blue and Gold did not record an ace in the match but allowed the Paladins to rack up seven.

For the second consecutive match, freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench led the team in kills with 11 on 37 attempts. She was joined in double figures by senior middle hitter Vicky Harley who registered 10 of her own. The Spartans were led in digs by junior libero Katherine Santiago's 12 while sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn picked up 11. Harley added three blocks as UNCG was ultimately paced by senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney's four stuffs.

A kill by Brezwyn knotted the score at seven in the first set before a 4-0 run by Furman put the Paladins in front 11-7. UNCG used its second timeout of the stanza with the score at 15-10, but could only come closer than three points the rest of the way as the Paladins took the frame 25-16. The Paladins hit .531 in the first set with 19 kills on 32 attempts with just two errors. The Spartans ended up at a respectable .290 with 12 kills.

UNCG came out aggressive in the second set, racking up a 6-1 lead after a kill by redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur. The Spartans kept the pressure on, extending the advantage to 12-6 as Furman called for timeout. The Paladins rallied to within 17-16, forcing the Blue and Gold to signal for a timeout. UNCG was unfazed, even after Furman tied the score at 19. A kill by Brezwyn gave the Spartans set point at 24-21 and UNCG held off a charge by the home side to claim the set 25-23 and tie the contest at one heading to intermission. The Spartans held the Paladins to just .051 efficiency in the stanza and hit .195 themselves. 

Furman scored the first four points of the third set and was never really threatened. The Paladins led 10-2 and 19-9 before eventually putting it away 25-14 for a 2-1 lead in the match. The Spartans struggled offensive in the frame, hitting for a negative percentage (-.062). Conversely, Furman fired at a .346 clip with 12 kills and only three errors.

The Paladins jumped out to another early lead in the fourth set after an ace by Andrea Fisher made the score 7-2. UNCG got within 13-9 following a blocking error by Furman, but the Paladins proved too much in the end, clinching the match by a 25-16 margin.

The Spartans return to Fleming Gymnasium Tuesday to kick off a five-match homestand as they welcome in former Southern Conference rival Elon. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

Follow the UNCG volleyball team year round by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official Twitter accounts @UNCGVB and @uncgsports.