College of Charleston
Furman
Charleston Defeats Furman 3-2, Clinches SoCon Regular Season Title
11/10/2007 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The College of Charleston volleyball team defeated Furman 3-2 (20-30, 20-30, 30-28, 30-27, 15-13) in a marathon five-game match that clinched the Southern Conference regular season title for the seventh consecutive season. Deanna Patrick led the team in kills with 16, while Tiffany Blum led the Cougar defense with 11 blocks.
Charleston ends the regular season with a 22-7 record, owning a 16-2 conference mark. Furman falls to 20-8 overall and 13-5 in league play.
“This one was of the best matches I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. The emotion and energy on both sides of the net was great and created and intense environment,” Coach Jason Kepner said. “To beat a very good Furman team on their court on senior day took a special performance. I am very proud of this team today and how we responded in the last three games.”
Charleston fell behind 2-0 in the first two games of the match. The Paladins held Charleston to a .122, and a .000 hitting percentage in those games. This was the first time the Cougars have been held to a .000 percentage in a game this season. Charleston answered by winning the final three games of the match.
Trailing 10-5 in game three, Charleston called their first timeout. Furman went on a 6-0 run to make it a 18-11 game before Charleston scored three consecutive points to make it a 4 point game (18-14). CofC battled to tie the game at 21. The teams would tie two more times before a 3-0 run sparked by a Patrick kill gave Charleston the lead at 24-23. The teams battled for the remainder of the game until a kill by Blum sealed the game at 30-28 and forced a fourth game.
The fourth game saw Charleston earn a come from behind victory for the second straight game. The team fell behind 13-8 before the Cougars out together a 5-0 run to narrow the Paladin lead to one at 13-12. A bad set by Nicole Pallazo tied the game at 14 and forced Furman to call a timeout. A block by Patrick and Blum gave Charleston a 15-14 lead, but it was answered with a kill by Palazzo. The teams were deadlocked a 16 before a kill by Patrick gave Charleston the lead at 17-16. The teams would tie five more times before another Patrick kill gave CofC the lead for the rest of the game. A kill by Annie Uthe gave Charleston the win that tied the match a two, forcing a fifth and final game.
Furman scored eight of the opening 12 points of the final game before a kill by Patrick narrowed the Paladin lead to two at 8-6. Charleston scored three straight points to make it a 9-8 game. An attack error by Palazzo tied the game at 11, but consecutive Paladin kills gave Charleston a 13-11 advantage. CofC scored the final four points of the game to seal the game and the match, 15-13.
Patrick (16), Blum (15), Emily Sawin (13) and Cole Dawley (12) earned double-digit kills in the win. Five additional Cougars combined for 12 kills. The offensive attack was paced by a match-high 59 assists from Lindsey Kane. Megan Parkerson earned 44 digs, her second 30-plus dig game of the season. Blum's 11 blocks gave her a double-double for the night. Four Cougars notched at least one block in the win.
Chibuzo Aguocha led the Furman offense with 29 kills, while Kerry Wooten and Palazzo combined for 25 kills. In addition to her 15 kills, Palazzo led the team in blocks with 13. Emily Harby recorded 10 blocks in the effort. Brooke Ellison paced the defensive effort with 32 digs.
Charleston returns to action Thursday, Nov. 15 as the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament.
