CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team saw its season came to an end Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 (18-25, 16-25, 14-25) loss to second-seeded Furman in the Southern Conference Semifinals. The Spartans finish the season 22-11 while Furman (19-8) advances to face Chattanooga in the SoCon Championship match.

The Spartans' finish the season with 22 wins, which are the most for UNCG since posting 22 wins in the 2010 season. Additionally, this marks the second straight year that UNCG has posted a 20-win season and is the second straight time the Spartans have advanced to the SoCon Tournament semifinals.

UNCG was held to just a .104 hitting percentage as a team in the loss while Furman hit .346 and had 48 total kills. Freshman Allison Penner (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) tallied 23 assists while adding 10 digs in the loss. Sophomore Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) and Alexis Mourier (Elkview, W. Va./George Washington) both had a team-best seven kills. Senior Katherine Santiago (San Juan, Puerto Rico) had a team-best 11 digs in the final match of her career as a Spartan.

Furman's Annie Bierman, the SoCon Player of the Year, had a match-high 12 kills while teammate Christen Sikora had 11 kills at a .318 clip. Additionally, Meg DeMaar led the Paladins with a match-high 19 digs.

Furman took the first point of the opening set but UNCG would battle back and forth with them. The Spartans took their first lead, 13-12, on a kill by Mourier. Furman responded with a 6-1 run to lead 18-14. UNCG was unable to catch up as the Paladins went on to in the first set, 25-18, outscoring UNCG 7-3 over the remainder of the first frame.

Muench paced the Spartans with five kills and a .235 attack percentage. Penner had 10 assists while also leading UNCG with four digs in the first set. Furman hit .263 as a team as Carris Campbell had a set-high six kills hitting six-for-seven for a .714 clip. Jo Wilks had a set-high 12 assists while Meg DeMaar had six digs.

Furman jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the second set and opened the frame on a 12-1 run. UNCG was able to close within seven points at 16-9, but the Paladins continued to go point-for-point to hold on for a 25-16 win.

UNCG hit just .051 as a team in the set with Mourier having a team-best three kills. Furman was paced by Jamila Johnson who had five attacks as the Paladins improved to hit .316 as a team.

The Spartans fell behind 5-0 after intermission. The Spartans pulled within four, 12-8, but Furman used an 8-4 run to take a commanding 20-12 lead in the final set. The Paladins held off UNCG to clinch the victory with a 25-14 third set win.

Furman had its best set on the attack with a .484 clip while UNCG hit just .088 as a team in the final frame. Jasmine Jones (Stafford, Va./Brooke Point) had a set-high four kills for UNCG while Santiago had a team-best five digs. Furman was led by Annie Bierman in the final set who had seven kills on 11 attempts for a .636 hitting percentage. The Paladins had 15 kills in the final set of the match.

-UNCG-