September 6, 2003

FU/ECU MEET IN FINALS OF HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS DOWNTOWN INVITATIONAL;
LADY PALADINS EMERGE VICTORIOUS, MONTAGUE MAKES 1,000 KILLS CLUB

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- Furman defeated Gardner-Webb 3-0 and topped Birmingham Souther 3-1, while East Carolina topped both teams in three in the early matches of the Holiday Inn Express Downtown Invitational. Saturday night, ECU and Furman squared off in the final match and the Lady Paladins emerged with a 3-2 come from behind win to take the 2003 tournament title.

The Lady Paladins fell 30-26 and 31-29 in the first two games, but overtook the Pirates 30-28 on .342 hitting in game three. The Lady Paladins held on for a 32-30 win in game four, then jumped out to an early lead in taking the final game 15-10.

Senior Amber Montague paced the Lady Paladins with 20 kills in the match, thereby becoming the 11th woman in Furman history to score over 1,000 career kills. In addition, Whitney Purser, Julia Fredrickson, Ally Hock, and Liz Hilliker each added 12, while middle blocker Caitlin White totaled 11 and put down a team-high six blocks.

Despite earning their first loss of the season, the 6-1Pirates were led by Sarah Vick and Erica Wilson, who each totaled 17 kills on the night, and Johanna Bertini’s 14 digs.

Furman’s Montague was named tournament MVP, while Julia Fredrickson also represented the Lady Paladins on the all-tournament team. ECU was represented by Sarah Vick and Kaite Jannusch, while Gardner-Webb’s Sara Alford made the team and Birmingham Southern’s Kyndall Waters earned honors.

SATURDAY’S TOURNAMENT ACTION
East Carolina def. Gardner-Webb 3-0
Furman def. Birmingham Southern 3-1
Birmingham Southern def. Gardner-Webb 3-0
Furman def. ECU 3-2

All Tournament Team
FUR - Julia Fredrickson
GWU - Sara Alford
ECU - KAtie Jannusch
ECU - Sarah Vick
BSC - Kyndall Waters

MVP - Furman, Amber Montague