 |  |
Furman Upsets Charleston, Claims SoCon Volleyball Championship
Nov. 23, 2008
GREENSBORO, N.C. - In their third five-set match of the weekend, the Furman Paladin volleyball team upset the reigning champion College of Charleston to claim the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship.
In the first set, Furman jumped to an early 4-0 lead, but the Cougars regrouped to tie the score and keep it close until the Paladins took a two-point lead at 14-12, forcing a College of Charleston time out. After the time out, the Cougars fought back to tie the score again, but a kill from freshman Kelly Kirby put the Paladins back up by one, and a Cougar error gave the Paladins another two-point advantage.
After tied scores at 17, 18 and 20, Furman earned game-point advantage at 24-21 and, despite a Cougar comeback, the Paladins held on to take a 25-23 win in the first set. Freshman Kirby recorded five kills and five digs for the Paladins in the first set.
College of Charleston jumped to their own 4-0 lead in the second set, but another kill from Kirby gave the Paladins the side out. The Cougars regrouped to take a 7-3 lead, and kept building to an 11-5 lead before Furman called a time out. After the time out, Furman rallied behind strong serving and defense to narrow the gap to 12-13. College of Charleston responded with strong serving of their own, keeping Furman out of system and maintaining a slight lead.
The Paladins refused to give up, however, and continued to side out, tying the score at 17 and taking an 18-17 lead off a kill by freshman middle blocker Alexis Shaffer. Twp straight kills by senior Alison West put the Paladins up by three, but the Cougars clawed their way back in to tie the score at 20. After tied scores at 21 and 22, College of Charleston earned a game point opportunity at 24-23. Although the Paladins fought off two game points, it wasn't enough as the Cougars took the second set 26-24 to tie the match one-one. Furman's Alison West tallied nine kills in the second set alone, while Kirby added four.
The Cougars again took the lead to start the third set, but Furman fought back with tough serving from Kirby and Pamela Gehrke to tie the score at seven. The next eight points saw tied scores every point, before Charleston took the 17-15 lead. The Cougars took advantage of a Paladin hitting error to take a three-point lead and continued to build their advantage to 22-17 before taking the set 25-20.
Furman struggled in the fourth set, and despite siding out consistently, the Paladins were unable to take the lead, allowing the Cougars to take an 8-4 lead before calling the first time out of the set. After the time out, Charleston continued to hold the Paladins at bay, working their way to a 15-10, then 18-13 lead, forcing the Paladins to use their second timeout.
Led again by Gehrke's strong serving, the Paladins pulled within two before allowing the Cougars to earn another side out and regain a four-point, 22-18 lead. Furman refused to give up, however, fighting back and forcing the Cougars to call a time out at 23-21. The Paladins earned the first point after the time out, but the Cougars responded to earn game and match-point advantage.
Furman fought off one match point with a kill from West, and took advantage of a Charleston hitting error to tie the score at 24. A Cougar net error gave the Paladins the 25-24 advantage, and West's 20th kill gave the 26-24 game to Furman.
The Paladins came out strong in the fifth game, with setter Kelsey Salava recording two straight service aces to give Furman a 3-1 advantage. Charleston rallied to a 4-4 tie, and a Furman mistake left the score tied at 5, but Furman's Palazzo put down a kill to take the 6-5 advantage. Palazzo's kill was followed by on from Kirby to put the Paladins up by two. The Paladins earned a well-timed block to take the 8-6 lead at the side change.
After the switch, Charleston earned two quick points to tie the score at eight. After a tied score at nine, a Cougar service error gave Furman a 10-9 advantage, but a net violation on the Paladins tied the score again at 10. Charleston took the 11-10 lead off a kill by Whitney Russell, but West responded with her own kill to tie the score yet again.
Furman fought to tie the score at 12 and won the 13-12 advantage with a block by Palazzo and right side Emily Harby. Another kill from Kirby gave the Paladins game-point advantage and made Charleston use its last time out. Charleston fought off one match point with scrappy defense, but a Cougar blocking error gave the Paladins the 15-13 win and their first Southern Conference Championship since 1990.
Junior Emily Sawin led the Cougars with 13 total kills and added 21 digs in the loss. Setter Cole Dawley recorded a triple-double with 10 kills, 44 assists and 15 digs. Libero Emily Shelton led the defense with 32 digs on the match.
For the Paladins, senior Alison West turned in her first career 20-20, with 21 kills and 21 digs. She also recorded her 1,000th kill of her career against the Cougars. Freshman Kelly Kirby added 14 kills and 21 digs, while senior Emily Harby contributed 13 kills and five block assists. Setter Kelsey Salava racked up 54 assists, and libero Carolyn Nicoletti led the team with 26 digs.
With a strong performance throughout the weekend, senior outside hitter Alison West was named the 2008 Tournament Most Valuable Player, while fellow seniors Nicole Palazzo and Emily Harby also earned All-Tournament honors.
With the win, Furman improves to 21-13 on the season and claims the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The 2008 NCAA Volleyball Selection show will take place on Sunday, November 30.
All-Tournament Team
Ashley Adams, Samford
Catherine Hanners, UNC Greensboro
Elyse Chubb, College of Charleston
Cole Dawley, College of Charleston
Emily Harby, Furman
Nicole Palazzo, Furman
Alison West, Furman
Tournament Most Valuable Player
Alison West, Furman
