This past weekend, Sept. 11-13, Furman’s volleyball team hosted the Furman Invite in Alley Gymnasium.
The Paladins went 3-0 in the tournament, with sophomore middle blocker Tennyson Gorman tabbed as the tournament MVP. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Stein and junior setter Emily Navarro were also selected for the All-Tournament team.
In their first match of the tournament and home opener, the Paladins faced off against the Alabama State University Hornets. Stein had a team-high of 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .333 as the Dins swept the Hornets 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-21).
Gorman and freshman outside hitter Amber Watson also added seven kills each while Navarro compiled 21 assists and seven digs.
Sophomore setter Quinn Morrissey posted 17 assists and junior libero Kennedy Seekford led all players with 13 digs in the match. Furman also recorded 10 blocks on the day.
In their next match on Friday, Furman outlasted the Ospreys of University of North Florida, 3-2 (25-20, 12-25, 17-25, 25-10) where they won in a five-set barnburner.
Furman took the first set 25-20 as junior outside hitter Lindsay Walch hit .714 and notched five kills in the set.
Then, North Florida took the second and third set to lead 2-1 going into the fourth. The Dins pushed the match for a fifth set after a decisive 25-10 win in set four.
In the fifth set, the score was tied six times and saw a 6-0 Furman run that won the match for the Paladins.
Stein had 12 kills, seven digs, five blocks and two service aces. Junior middle blocker Izzy Castello and Gorman each provided 11 kills, and Walch ended with 10. Navarro had a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs.
The final match of the tournament for Furman was on Saturday, where Furman clipped Winthrop University 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 26-24).
The fourth set saw 13 ties and six lead changes and went into extra points as a kill from Gorman secured the victory for Furman.
Stein finished with a double-double, posting 14 kills and 14 digs as Castello had nine kills.
Senior setter Eva Wheeler, Navarro and Morrissey all combined for 48 assists in the match.
Furman’s volleyball team will continue their homestand, facing off against University of North Carolina at Charlotte at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18.
