Furman 3, Wofford 0

SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Paladin volleyball team swept the Wofford Terriers 3-0 in volleyball action on Wednesday. Although the sets were close, Furman hung on to top Wofford and move to 6-3 in SoCon action.

The first set was close throughout, until Furman pulled away to a 22-17 lead late in the set. The Terriers scratched their way back in, however, to pull within one at 22-23. The Paladins finished set one, 25-23 off a kill by freshman Kelly Kirby and another from senior Nicole Palazzo.

Furman jumped to an early lead in set two, but stalled in the middle of the set and allowed the Terriers back in, tying the score at 22. Wofford took the 23-22 lead off a kill by Liz Sheets, but a Terrier service error and attack error combined with a kill from senior Ali West gave the Paladins the 25-23 win in set two.

The Paladins started the third set by jumping to an 18-12 lead, but Wofford again gave the Paladins a scare by going on a 7-2 run to pull within one point at 19-20. Furman’s Palazzo and Katherine Hall sealed the set with a combined three kills to give the Paladins the 25-22 win.

Wofford was led by senior Shanna Hughes who recorded nine kills and eleven digs. Senior libero Brittany Thompson led the floor defense with 23 digs. Wofford outblocked the Paladins eight to six.

Senior Alison West and sophomore Katherine Hall led the Paladins with nine kills apiece, while libero Pamela Gehrke racked up 15 digs. Freshman Kelly Kirby added 14 digs to the winning effort.

With the win, Furman improves to 13-9 on the season and 6-3 in the Southern Conference, while Wofford falls to 12-12 overall and 2-7 in league play. Furman will host Georgia Southern on Saturday at 2 p.m. and face Davidson on Sunday at 2 p.m.