GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team faced a tall task against a Furman squad that took the Southern Conference lead last night with a victory over Chattanooga, but the Spartans stunned the Paladins in three sets by scores of 25-16, 28-26 and 25-21 Saturday evening inside Fleming Gymnasium.

UNCG improved to 5-0 at home and have only dropped one set in the friendly confines all season. The Blue and Gold have also won two straight after a six-match losing skid.

The win was the first for the Spartans over Furman since 2013 and the first UNCG sweep in the series since the Spartans blanked the Paladins in the 2006 SoCon Tournament in Boone, N.C.

The UNCG (12-8, 2-3) offense was on fire for the second-straight match as the Spartans racked up 53 kills on 123 attempts with 18 errors for a .285 hitting percentage. Conversely, Furman (11-6, 5-2) collected 38 kills on 117 attempts with 15 errors to fire at a .197 clip. UNCG out-dug its visitors 57-45 and out-blocked them 10.0 to 8.0. The points earned category also favored the Blue and Gold 65.0 to 48.0.

The Spartan outside hitters had a field day in the match as junior Jessica Brezwyn put down a match-high 18 kills on 34 attempts and made just two errors for a blistering .471 hitting percentage. Sophomore Ashley Muench followed close behind with 17 kills and a .351 hitting mark. She also notched her third double-double adding 10 digs to her offensive output as well as four blocks (three solo). Senior defensive specialist Katherine Santiago paced the defense with 13 digs while freshman setter Allison Penner ran an efficient offense by registering 43 assists on her team's 53 kills.

Annie Bierman, the league leader in kills per set, recorded 14 for the Paladins to complement a 17-dig performance by libero Meg DeMaar.

The early portion of set one had the teams fighting for the upper hand as the score settled at nine apiece. A service ace from Penner on the next rally sparked an 8-1 run that propelled UNCG to a 17-10 lead. Furman signaled for timeout at that point but the Paladins would not be able to catch up. A Brezwyn kill extended the cushion to 20-12 before the Spartans closed the stanza out on a kill by Muench.

UNCG jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set two before Furman quickly tied the score at five. The Spartans notched the next three points, however, and were able to hold the Paladins at an arm's length all the way to building a 15-12 advantage after a solo block by Muench. Furman started to rally and put together a big 8-1 run that was capped off by a ball handling error by Penner.

Now leading 20-16, the Paladins looked to be in control and on the way to tying the match at intermission. The Blue and Gold had alternate plans though. UNCG crept within 22-21 after a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist Anna Romaniszyn and eventually knotted the score at 23 following a Furman attacking error. The squads battled back and forth into extra points as the Spartans fended off two set points to eventually pull even at 26. A huge block by Penner and freshman middle hitter Jasmine Jones put UNCG at set point before a Christen Sikora attacking error gave the Blue and Gold the frame.

Coming out of the locker room, it was a tussle for the lead all the way to a 13-13 deadlock. A pair of Brezwyn kills helped UNCG push ahead 16-13 but the Paladins refused to go away and rallied to tie it at 17 following a Jamila Johnson kill. The teams traded the next four points to forge a 19-19 tie. The Spartans then began to pull away, scoring the next three to force a Furman timeout. The run was finished off by an absolutely huge stuff block by Jones and junior outside hitter Alexis Mourier that sent the Fleming Gymnasium crowd into a frenzy. That would serve as the knockout blow as UNCG finished the Paladins off for good a couple of rallies later.

The Blue and Gold returns to action Wednesday hosting The Citadel at 6 p.m.