FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore outside hitter
Haleigh Kamer and senior outside hitter
Madilyn Gartner reached double-digit kills, as the Francis Marion University women's volleyball program earned a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-9, 26-24) over Ferrum College on Friday night (Oct. 10) in Conference Carolinas divisional play.
With the win, the Patriots improve to 14-5 overall with a 10-2 mark in league competition. Francis Marion remains in first place in the East Division standings with a perfect 5-0 record. Meanwhile, the Panthers fall to 6-10 this season with a 2-9 record in conference action.
Kamer registered a game-high 15 kills on a .310 hitting percentage, plus delivered a strong defensive performance with 11 digs. Gartner produced double-digit kills for a third straight match after finishing with 10 kills while adding three aces and five digs. Graduate student middle blocker
Vanessa Blake contributed seven kills and two blocks against the Panthers on Friday. Sophomore setter
Aubrey Johnson guided the offense with 34 assists and tallied four digs.
Defensively, freshman libero
Alyssa Whiteside led the way with 12 digs, plus three assists and one service ace. As a team, the Patriots matched their third-highest ace total of 2026 with eight in the victory.
In the first set, Francis Marion quickly established a 5-1 edge before Ferrum countered a 9-3 rally to take a 10-9 advantage. The Patriots answered back with three consecutive points as Kamer and senior opposite hitter
Camryn Faggart recorded kills, 12-10. The Panthers would tie the match at 13-13 before FMU scored six unanswered points with Gartner and Blake each totaling two kills. Francis Marion carried that momentum to a first-set win as senior outside hitter
Allison Miller hit back-to-back kills to win by a 25-17 margin.
The Patriots delivered a dominant second-set performance after tallying 11 kills on a .357 clip with three aces, while holding their opponent to just six kills. FMU quickly took a 10-4 lead before scoring five straight points to build a significant 15-4 advantage. Francis Marion would cruise to the second-set win with a 5-0 run, as Whiteside delivered an ace to seal the 25-9 win.
Ferrum responded in the opening moments of the third set, taking a 15-12 edge, before FMU produced a trio of kills to knot the match at 15-15. The Panthers would regain the lead late and reach set point at 24-23. FMU's Kamer countered with three consecutive kills to capture the sweep, 26-24.
