Box Score

CLEMSON, SC— After dropping the first two sets, the Winthrop volleyball team rallied to defeat Furman 3-2 in its opening match of the Clemson Big Orange Bash, Friday evening.

After forcing a fifth set, the Lady Eagles jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as it finished off the Paladins 15-9 to remain undefeated on the year at 5-0 while Furman falls to 0-5. The five straight wins to open the season is one shy of the school's 6-0 start in 2002.

Irene Ojukwu and Jackie Landers led the way in the final set as Ojukwu had four kills and Landers had three kills to lead the Lady Eagles. Winthrop finished with a match-high .471 hitting percentage in the final set.

Ojukwu finished with a season-high 23 kills behind a .442 hitting percentage while Landers added 15 kills. Landers also had 11 digs while Ojukwu had eight. Jessie Vivic tied her season-high with 59 assists.

The offensive found its form in the fourth set, hitting .452 with just one attacking error en route to a 25-17 win to extend the match. The fourth set was tied at 10-10 before the Lady Eagles took a 17-13 lead and then led 19-14. Furman cut the lead to two points at 19-17 before the Eagles reeled off six straight points to take the set.  

The third set saw the Lady Eagles battle to a 25-20 victory, despite just hitting just .152. With the set tied at 9-9, Winthrop had back-to-back blocks and never looked back. Winthrop held the lead the rest of the way and after Furman pulled within a point at 20-19, the team responded with four straight points for another five-point advantage in the set. A kill by Landers made it 24-19 and then Landers finished off the set with another kill, her 10^th of the match through three sets. As a team, Winthrop held Furman to a -.094 hitting percentage in the third set after the Paladins had hit .296 in the first set and .345 in the second.

Furman grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the match after taking the second set 25-20, ending the set on a 4-1 run after the Lady Eagles had pulled within a point at 21-20. All four points came off kills as the Paladins hit .345 in the second set compared to the Lady Eagles .190 hitting percentage.

In the second set, Furman led 17-10 before the Eagles used a 10-4 run to pull within a point at 21-20. The run was highlighted by three kills from Ojukwu and two more from Rachel Lenz.

Trailing 17-15 in the first set, a service error by Ojukwu followed by an attacking error by Lenz led to a 6-2 run by the Paladins for a 23-17 lead. Winthrop called timeout to change the momentum and did so for three straight points to pull within 23-20, but a service error by Vivic and a Furman block on set point put the Lady Eagles behind 1-0 in the match.

Alina Sopizhuk was also in double-figures with 12 kills while Lenz finished with 11. Furman was led by Christina Dorismond's 11 kills while Andrea Fisher added 10 kills and 11 digs. Ashton Gregory and Annie Bierman each had seven while Jo Wilks finished with 38 assists.

The Lady Eagles resume play on Saturday as they will take on the host Clemson Lady Tigers at 10 a.m. and wrap-up the weekend schedule later that afternoon in a 4 p.m. contest against the University of South Carolina.