Milwaukee, Wisc. – Annie Bierman put down 12 kills and Jo Wilks turned in 35 assists, but the Paladins fell 3-0 (25-27, 23-25, 20-25) to Missouri State in the 2015 season opener at the Pepsi Panther Invitational in Milwaukee, Wisc. The loss drops Furman to 0-1 on the young season, while the Bears open the year with a 1-0 record.

Bierman added seven digs and two blocks to her stat line, while Amelia Bohlander added nine kills and three blocks. Freshman Carris Campbell put down nine kills, a .421 hitting percentage and added two blocks in her Furman debut. Wilks added six digs to go with her 35 assists, while libero Meg DeMaar added a team-high nine digs.

Missouri State jumped out to an early 11-7 lead in set one, before the Paladins battled back to cut the lead to one at 12-11. The Bears continued to add to their lead, pushing it to 16-11 before a service error ended the run. Furman then went on a 4-0 run of its own to again cut the Missouri State lead to one at 16-15, before the Bears pushed the lead back to three at 18-5, 19-16, 21-18 and 23-20. Missouri State used a kill to take a 24-21 lead, but the Paladins would not go quietly, using a 4-0 run to grab a 25-24 lead. Missouri State would not be denied, however, using three-straight points to take set one, 27-25.

Furman opened up an 8-4 lead in set two, before four-straight Paladin kills gave Furman a 12-5 lead, forcing a Missouri State timeout. The teams then traded points before three-straight Bears' points cut the Furman lead to four at 15-11, forcing a Paladin timeout. Furman pushed the lead back to six at 17-11, before the teams traded points until the Paladins grabbed a 22-16 lead. Missouri State came roaring back, however, using seven-straight points to take a 23-22 lead in the set. Furman battled back to tie it at 23, but Missouri State used consecutive kills to take set two, 25-23.

The Paladins again opened an early lead in set three, before the Bears rallied to take the lead at 8-6. Furman battled back to tie the set at eight, before Missouri State rattled off five-straight points to take a 13-8 lead. The Bears then opened their biggest lead of the set at 15-10, before the Paladins again battled back to tie the set at 17, 18, and 19. The teams then traded points until Missouri State used a 5-0 run to take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.

Furman is back in action at the Pepsi Panther Invitational tomorrow, taking on tournament-host Milwaukee in a 1:30 p.m. matchup, shown live on ESPN3.