Greenville, S.C. – Nicole Mack and Katie Murphy both recorded double-doubles on Saturday evening as the Furman volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-27, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-17) to the Samford Bulldogs on Senior Night at Alley Gymnasium.

Furman falls to 6-19 on the season and 6-8 in conference play while Samford improves to 19-5 overall and 13-1 in the league.

Mack and Neci Harris both led the Paladins offensively with 16 kills each while Courtney Hoffman contributed 15. Mack collected her team-leading 12^th double-double of the season after finishing with 15 digs. Katie Murphy added her sixth double-double of the year on 52 assists and 12 digs. Sarah Turner paced Furman defensively after setting a new career-high with 19 digs. Madison Gresham posted a career-high 17 digs while Andrea Aceveda also tallied 17.

Lauren Deaton (32 kills, 13 digs), Kelsi Hobbs (17 kills, 15 digs) and Grace Tiesman (16 kills, 17 digs) all compiled double-doubles to lead the Bulldogs. Corinne Meglic dished out 67 assists and Emily Naubert led all players with a game-high 23 digs.

The opening set featured a total of 11 ties with five taking place within the first 18 points as Murphy evened the score at 9-9 following her kill. The Paladins then outscored Samford 9-5 and took an 18-14 lead when Hoffman connected on a kill. A Bulldog service error kept Furman's advantage at four, 19-15. Samford answered with a 6-1 run and went ahead 21-20 on Deaton's kill. The Paladins came back by scoring three of the next four points to hold a 23-22 lead on a kill by Harris. The teams traded the next six points before Tiesman and Hobbs posted back-to-back kills to give the Bulldogs the 27-25 win.

Furman started the second set by scoring seven of the first 10 points to take a 7-3 advantage after a Samford attack error. After the Bulldogs cut the lead down to one, the Paladins used a 7-4 run to hold a 15-11 lead when Harris recorded a kill. Samford scored the next four points to even the score at 15-15. The Bulldogs would go ahead 19-17 before Furman rallied with a 5-1 run to go in front 22-20 off a bad set. With the score tied at 23-23, a kill by Harris and Samford attack error won the set for the Paladins, 25-23.

The teams began the third set by splitting the first 12 points before Furman registered four straight to lead 10-6 when Harris and Gresham combined for a block. The Paladins broke the set open courtesy of a 7-3 run and led 18-12 off Aceveda's service ace. Samford responded with a 12-3 run of its own to take a 24-21 advantage on Hobbs' kill. Deaton captured the set for the Bulldogs, 25-22, with her kill.

Furman opened the fourth set on a 6-1 run and took a five-point lead when Gresham recorded a kill. After Samford cut the lead down to 6-5, the Paladins countered with a 7-1 run to lead 13-6 after Harris' kill. Furman led by seven points three more times after that with the last coming at 17-10 on a combination block by Hoffman and Mack. The Bulldogs fought back with a 9-3 run and trailed 20-19 on Deaton's kill. The Paladins held off the rally to score five of the last seven points, capped by a Samford service error, for the 25-21 victory.

After trading the first 14 points of the fifth set, which saw the score tied 10 times, Furman scored four consecutive points to lead 11-7 off a Bulldog attack error. Samford then scored six straight points to go ahead 13-11. The Paladins picked up back-to-back kills from Harris and Hoffman to even the score at 13-13. The score went back-and-forth for the next four points before Mack made it 15-15 with her kill. The Bulldogs collected the next two points to win the set, 17-15, and match, 3-2.

Furman concluded the match with a .229 hitting percentage and 12.0 total team blocks, its eighth time this season finishing with double-digit blocks in a match.

The Paladins begin a two-match road trip to wrap up the regular season on Tuesday, November 12 when they travel to UNC Greensboro for a 7 p.m. match.