Boone, N.C. – Furman volleyball dropped its first conference match of the season Friday night, as the Paladins fell 3-0 (20-25, 20-25, 21-25) to Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. The Paladins fell to 8-8 on the year (4-1 SoCon) while the Mountaineers moved to 11-9 (2-3 SoCon).

Appalachian State held Furman to a .209 hitting percentage and Christina Dorismond was the only Paladin hitter to register double-digit kills with 15. Jo Wilks dished out 30 assists, her twelfth-consecutive game with 30+ assists. Annie Bierman led the Paladins on defense with eight kills.

The Mountaineers took an early 10-5 lead in set one, before the Paladins were able to cut the lead to one after a 7-3 run at 13-12. Appalachian State then pushed their lead back to four at 17-13, forcing a Furman timeout. The Paladins again cut the lead to two at 18-16, before Appalachian State closed out the set on a 7-4 run to win 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The teams traded points in set two before, with the score tied at 7, Appalachian State went on a 5-0 run to force a Furman timeout. The Paladins cut the lead to three at 13-10, but the Mountaineers continued to hold on to the lead, forcing a Furman timeout with the score at 17-13. Furman went on a 4-0 run of its own to force an Appalachian State timeout at 20-17. However, the Mountaineers closed out the set on a 5-3 run to win 25-20 and stretch their match lead to 2-0.

The teams again traded points in set three before Furman called their first timeout, trailing Appalachian State 18-15. After a yellow card was assessed to Head Coach Michelle Young, the Paladins cut the lead to one at 19-18 on kills by Dorismond and Bierman. However, Appalachian State used three straight points of its own to force another Furman timeout at 22-18. The Mountaineers were able to hold off the Paladin rally and take set five, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.

The Paladins are back in action on Sunday as they travel to Cullowhee, N.C., to face Western Carolinaat 3:00 p.m.