GREENVILLE, S.C.. - Sophomore Maya Mrus tallied 16 kills and 23 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, but the effort was not enough as Chattanooga downed Furman, 25-27, 17-26, 25-16, 25-18, 15-11, Friday night at Alley Gymnasium in Greenville, S.C.

The Paladins drop to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in SoCon play, while Chattanooga improves to 5-11, 1-2 SoCon.

Mrus also paced the Paladins with three services aces.  Sophomore Ella Abraham notched a double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs, while junior Sarah Turner added a double-double with a team-high 24 assists and 14 digs.  Freshman Ava Augustson notched 16 digs and eight kills, while junior Natalie Dunn had 13 kills and six digs.  Junior Andrea Aceveda logged 15 digs in the effort, and sophomore Sydney Tanner recorded nine kills.

Maia Rackel paced Chattanooga with 21 kills, while Gylian Finch added a double-double with 19 kills and 15 digs.  Sophia Bossong posted a team-high 48 assists, while Paige Gallentine tallied 28 digs to lead the Mocs. 

The teams battled through 17 ties in the first set.  Chattanooga had set point at 24-23, forcing a Paladin timeout, and a kill from Tanner kept Furman in the match at 24-24.  The Paladins reached set point at 25-24, but Chloe Bryan's kill tied the match at 25-all.  Furman capitalized off a Mocs attack error before Mrus recorded a kill for the 27-25 Paladin victory.  Augustson hit .500 and notched six kills in the opening set, and Aceveda totaled eight digs in set one.

With the teams tied at 7-7 in set two, the Paladins put together a 4-1 run to begin to pull away, 11-8, off two kills by Mrus.  A block by Augustson and Tanner helped Furman maintain the three point margin at 15-12, then the Paladins reeled off three additional points to push the lead to 18-12.  The Mocs scored two points to stay in the match at 18-14, but at 19-15 Furman scored four consecutive points to lead 23-15.  A kill by Mrus gave the Paladins set point, then she sealed the set win, 25-17, with a final kill, giving Furman a 2-0 lead at the break.

After a 5-all tie to open set three, Chattanooga put together a 8-2 run to lead, 13-8.  Furman won three of the next four points to cut the lead to 14-11, fueled by a kill from Tanner, then the teams traded points back and forth.  Chattanooga went on a 5-1 run to lead 20-14, then the Mocs won five of the final seven points for a 25-16 set victory.

The Mocs took a 6-2 lead in set four, but the Paladins put together three straight points off two Chattanooga errors and a kill from Dunn to stay in the match at 6-5.  The Mocs maintained the lead at 16-10, then Furman scored off two additional Chattanooga errors to cut the deficit to 16-12.  Down 19-12, the Paladins capitalized off a kill from Dunn, followed by an ace by Abraham, and a Moc error to remain within four at 19-15, before Chattanooga scored five of the next seven points to reach set point, 24-17.  A kill from Mikaela Schulz kept the Paladin hopes alive, but a final kill by Maia Rackel gave Chattanooga the 25-18 win, tying the match at two sets apiece. 

In the decisive final set, the teams were tied at five-all before Chattanooga scored four consecutive points to lead, 9-5.  Following a Furman timeout, the Paladins scored off a kill from Dunn then a block by Tanner and Auguston to trim the deficit to two at 9-7.  The Mocs took the next two points to extend the advantage to 11-7, but a kill from Tanner kept the Furman hopes alive.  Watkins recorded a kill followed by a Chattanooga error to keep the Paladins within three, 13-10, but the Mocs scored off a block and kill by Finch to take the final set, 15-11. 

The Paladins will entertain East Tennessee state Saturday at 4 p.m. at Alley Gymnasium.