The women’s volleyball team is back on a roll with five consecutive victories over the last two weeks.
The streak began with a 3-0 win against Wofford on Oct. 2 followed by victories against The Citadel (3-0), College of Charleston (3-1), and finally back-to-back home game wins against Western Carolina (3-0) and Appalachian State (3-0) the weekend of the twelfth and the thirteenth. The College of Charleston’s defeat at the hands of the Paladins marked the end to the Cougars’ 21 game winning streak at home.
Three of the Paladins have been recognized by the Southern Conference this month: Chandler Ambrester, Jo Wilks, and Natalie Braun.
Ambrester was named SoCon offensive player of the week for the week of Oct. 8. Ambrester was recognized for her 15 kills and 18 digs in the match against the College of Charleston and for totaling double digit kills in the matches against Wofford and The Citadel earlier in the week.
Wilks was also recognized by the league as Freshman of the Week. She recorded more than 40 assists per match for Furman’s three games of the week including an impressive 50 assists and 10 digs in the Paladins’ match at the College of Charleston.
Wilks currently leads the Paladins with 12.23 assists per set this season. This marks the fourth time she has been named SoCon Freshman of the Week. Wilks also claimed the title for the first three consecutive weeks of the season.
Braun was chosen as the SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for September. She has totaled 160 kills over 39 sets.
Braun also racked up 145 digs for the month with an average of 2.73 digs per set. She was likewise honored with the title of SoCon’s Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10. She currently leads the Paladins in kills and maintains a second place ranking in digs.
In the victory against Clemson on Sept. 4, Braun recorded a season-high of 25 kills and 17 digs. She also managed to post a season-best of 20 digs during the loss against Samford.
The Paladins served their rival, the College of Charleston, their first conference defeat of the season with a key 3-1 victory Oct. 7 at the Cougars’ home court.
Natalie Braun tallied her fourteenth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs for the match.
Wilks recorded her team high 50 assists while another freshman, Caitlyn Scioscia racked up nine digs.
Caroline Adams added 15 kills and five block assists. She also led the Paladins in attack percentage while Elle Ross recorded 17 digs in the match.
The victory was an important step for the Furman women to remain competitive in their battle for the division championship.