GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) volleyball team notched its eighth consecutive victory after securing a five-set battle over the Furman Paladins (13-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-18, 15-11) on Friday night in The Southern Conference (SoCon) play inside Timmons Arena.
The Spartans improve to 17-7 overall and 10-3 in the league. The last time the Spartans notched an eight-match win streak was in the 2021 campaign as that team also posted eight straight wins. The 2021 season was also the last time UNCG captured 10 wins in conference, going 12-4 that year. In addition, this is the second consecutive season that UNCG has posted 17 overall victories.
Junior outside hitter
Allie Sweet paced the contest with 33 kills, marking her second time this season notching over 30 kills. She previously set the UNCG volleyball single match program record earlier this season with 36 kills against Delaware State on Sept. 20.
With tonight's five blocks, sophomore middle blocker
Connore' Siler-Nixon surpassed 200 blocks in her career, becoming the 13th player in UNCG volleyball history to reach the 200 career blocks milestone.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 – Furman opened with five straight points. UNCG cut the deficit to 7-6, but the Paladins answered with a run of their own to build a 12-6 lead. The Spartans pulled within three at 12-9, but Furman pulled away to take the set, 25-13.
Set 2 – UNCG scored the first two points, then fell behind 4-2. A strong stretch at the net helped the Spartans turn it around, scoring six of the next seven points to lead 8-5. Furman later moved ahead 19-15, but UNCG rallied behind Sweet and
Kendall Lanclos, who combined for several kills during the late push. An ace by Sweet and a block from
Hailey Clifton and
Siena Smiejek helped the Spartans reach set point, while a Clifton kill finished the 25-22 win.
Set 3 – After falling behind 8-4, UNCG worked back into the set and pulled within one at 13-12. The teams traded points through the closing stretch. The Spartans erased a 24-22 deficit to tie the score, then went ahead 26-25. Furman took the next three points to claim the set, 28-26.
Set 4 – Furman led 4-1 early, but UNCG fought back to tie the score at seven. The teams stayed close until the Spartans used blocks and kills from Siler-Nixon and Sweet, to build a 16-13 lead. Furman pulled within one, but UNCG won four straight points to stretch the margin to 21-17 and closed out the set, 25-18.
Set 5 – Furman took the first point, but Sweet's kills helped UNCG build a 5-2 lead. The Paladins fought back to tie it at seven, and the teams continued trading points. Lanclos served an ace to put the Spartans up 10-8, while Sweet and
Izora Gragg helped UNCG extend the lead to 14-10. Smiejek delivered the match-winning kill for the 15-11 set victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sweet recorded her 39th career double-double and 16th of the season after pacing the contest with 33 kills and adding 11 digs.
- Siler-Nixon added 15 kills to round out the Spartans with double-figure kills.
- Gragg notched her 20th career double-double and eighth of the season after leading the match with a new career-best 56 assists and adding 10 digs.
- Cliton and Smiejek recorded seven total blocks apiece, while Siler-Nixon added five. Clifton's seven blocks marked a new career-best for the freshman.
- Lanclos was one kill shy of a double-double with nine and chipping in a new career-high of 12 digs.
- Chloe Nussbaum was the leading libero in the contest with 20 digs.
RECORDS
UNCG: 17-7, 10-3 SoCon
FUR: 11-13, 5-8 SoCon
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UP NEXT
The Spartans are back in Timmons Arena tomorrow for their second matchup against Furman starting at 7:00 p.m.
