Macon, Ga. – Neci Harris and Courtney Hoffman both finished with double-digit kills on Saturday afternoon, while Katie Murphy compiled a double-double, as the Furman volleyball team wrapped up its regular season with a 3-2 (16-25, 25-11, 25-20, 21-25, 12-15) loss to the Mercer Bears at Hawkins Arena.

Furman falls to 7-20 on the season and 7-9 in SoCon play while Mercer improves to 13-16 overall and 6-10 in the conference.

Harris concluded the match with a team-high 13 kills while Hoffman contributed 11. Both players finished with a hitting percentage of .200 or better. Murphy recorded her seventh double-double of the season after registering 33 assists and 10 digs. Murphy was one of four players to finish with 10 or more digs along with Andrea Aceveda (27), Madison Gresham (17) and Nicole Mack (15). Gresham tied her career-high total in digs.

Brittany Major led the Bears offensively with a game-high 19 kills while Roberta Todd contributed 12. Nya Steele dished out 38 assists and added nine digs. Malia Randolph also had 16 assists. Megan Smith (25), Major (21), Amber Gibson (15) and Todd (14) all recorded double-figure digs.

The Paladins started the match on a 6-2 run and took a four-point lead in the first set off a Mercer attack error. The Bears followed with an 8-3 run and led 10-9 following a kill by Annie Karle. After a combination block by Harris and Lydia Morris, Mercer would go on a 10-3 run and held a 20-13 advantage on a Furman ball handling error. The Bears scored the final three points to win 25-16.

The teams traded the first six points of the second set before the Paladins outscored Mercer 11-2 to take a 14-5 lead after Harris connected on back-to-back kills. Furman then used an 8-2 run midway to take its largest lead of the set, 23-8, on a kill by Hoffman. A ball handling error by the Bears gave the Paladins a 25-11 victory.

Morris and Harris gave Furman an early 9-5 lead in the third set after teaming up for a combination block. After Mercer evened the score at 9-9, the Paladins responded with a 10-1 run and went ahead 19-10 after a pair of bad sets by the Bears. A Mercer ball handling error kept Furman's lead at eight points, 21-13. The Bears attempted a late rally and got as close as four points twice with the last coming at 24-20. Mack won the set for the Paladins on the following play.

The fourth set featured a total of eight ties with four coming in the first 20 points as Furman tied the score at 20-20 on a combination block by Hoffman and Mack. Mercer then scored seven of the next 11 points and led 17-14 after a kill by Todd. Two attack errors, and kill by Gresham, evened the score at 17-17. The Bears outscored the Paladins 8-4 the rest of the way and captured the set, 25-21, on Todd's kill.

Mercer began the fifth set on a 6-1 run before Furman came back with a 7-1 run of its own. Mack gave the Paladins an 8-7 lead with her service ace. With the score tied at 9-9, the Bears scored three of the next four points to hold a 12-10 advantage on a combination block. Harris came back with a kill and cut Furman's deficit down to 12-11. Mercer finished the set on a 3-1 run and won the set, 15-12, and match, 3-2, on a service error.

The Paladins concluded the match tying their season-high of 15.0 total team blocks. It marks the ninth time this season that Furman has recorded double-digit blocks in a match.

The 2019 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship will be held Nov. 22-24 in Spartanburg, S.C. and is being hosted by Wofford at Richardson Indoor Stadium.