Rock Hill, S.C. - The Eagles picked up their seventh win of the season with a 4-1 (27-25, 21-25, 25-13, 25-22) win over the Furman Paladins on Thursday night. This win keeps the Eagle undefeated at home this season and moves them to 7-3 overall. The loss drops Furman to 0-9 on the season.
How It Happened
The first set remained neck and neck until Winthrop slowly pulled away, 20-16. Furman maintained their aggressive offense and chipped away at the Eagle's lead, reclaiming the lead 24-23. A Paladin error and a kill from Winthrop's Kia Benitez notched the score 25-25. Benitez hammered another kill home and Furman's Natalie Dunn committed an attacking error to allow Winthrop the first set victory.
The Eagles struggled to maintain their offensive power, committing eight errors with just 12 kills in the set. Furman had a much more efficient second set, compared to their first set, finishing with 15 kills and just 5 errors.
The Eagles auto-corrected in the third set, jumping to a commanding 15-7 lead.
Makayla Doyle added four kills to her team's 14 kill, four error, outing. Furman struggled to put their own offense together, managing just six kills with five errors on 31 attempts as a team. The all out defense by
Hannah Lackey made it difficult for the Paladins to find the floor and the Eagles took an easy 2-1 set lead.
Winthrop looked poised for an easy fourth set victory but a late surge by Furman tied the set 22-22, forcing a Winthrop timeout. A kill from Benitez kept the Eagles in the lead and an attack error by Furman's Neci Harris brought the home team to match point.
Siani Yamaguchi finished out the match with an ace serve.
Inside the Box Score
Benitez finished with 15 kills and added 19 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Middle blockers,
Morgan Bossler and
Makayla Doyle dominated the net with 13 and 12 kills respectively; Doyle led the way with a team high four blocks and Bossler finished with three.
Furman was led by Gabby Howard, who tied Benitez for match high kills at 15. Andrea Aceveda had a match high 21 digs for the Paladins.
Up Next
The Winthrop Invitational continues tomorrow with a noon match between Appalachian State and Furman. The Eagles will take the court against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at 6:00 p.m.
