Charlottesville, Va. – Behind 26 kills from Ann Ernst, Loyola (Md.) outlasted Furman, 3-2 (25-22, 14-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-11) on Friday morning in game one of the 2019 Charlottesville Classic on the campus of the University of Virginia.
 
Nicole Mack and Neci Harris both put down double-digit kills for the Paladins, while Harris led the team with 3.5 blocks. Mack turned in one of the Paladins two double-doubles on the day, adding in 16 digs. Katie Murphy recorded Furman's other double-double, tallying 36 assists and 13 digs, while freshman Andrea Aceveda led the team with 21 digs and two aces.
 
Loyola took an early 6-3 lead, but then the Paladins used an 8-1 scoring run, including a 6-0 run served by Sarah Turner, to take an 11-7 advantage and force the Greyhounds to call a timeout. The Paladins pushed the lead to six at 18-12, before Loyola used a quick 3-0 run to cut the lead to 18-15 and force a Furman timeout. Loyola cut into the Furman lead later in the set, getting it down to just a one-point advantage at 22-21 and 23-22, but Furman used a kill by Courtney Hoffman and a Loyola attack error to take set one, 25-22, for a 1-0 match lead.
 
Loyola used an 8-3 run early to take a 12-5 lead in set two. The Paladins responded with a 5-1 run of their own to cut the lead to three at 13-10. The teams traded points until the Greyhounds used a 10-2 run to close out the set and take it, 25-14, to tie the match at one.
 
The Greyhounds grabbed an early 10-4 lead in set three, but the Paladins used a 4-1 run to close the gap and cut the lead to three at 11-8 and force a Loyola timeout. The teams traded points until Furman cut the lead to 52- at 14-12, but Loyola responded with a 3-0 run to push it back to four at 17-12. The Paladins immediately responded with a 5-0 run, tying the set at 17 and forcing Loyola's final timeout of the set. The Greyhounds opened a three-point advantage at 21-18, before the Paladins again battled back to tie the set at 23-23. Loyola used back-to-back kills, however, to take the set, 25-23, for a 2-1 match lead.
 
The teams traded points early in set four, before Loyola grabbed a 13-10 advantage. Furman responded, however, using a 5-0 run to take a 15-13 lead and force a Greyhound timeout. The teams traded points until Furman took a 19-17 lead, then continued to trade points until the Paladins grabbed the first set point opportunity at 24-23. The teams continued to battle until Furman used back-to-back points to take the set, 27-25, and force a deciding fifth.
 
Loyola used an early 5-0 run to race out to an 8-4 lead in the fifth. The Paladins responded with three-straight points to cut the lead to 8-7 and force a Greyhound timeout. Loyola pushed the lead back to three at 12-9, but Furman took advantage of back-to-back errors to cut the lead to 12-11. The Greyhounds used a quick 3-0 run to end the set, however, taking it 15-11 and the match, 3-1.
 
In Furman's second match of the day, the Paladins fell to Virginia, 3-1. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 2-0 match lead, but the Paladins rallied to take set three, 25-22, and force a fourth set. The teams played a tight set four before Virginia rattled off three-straight points to take set four, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.

Furman is back in action on Saturday, taking on Coastal Carolina.