GREENVILLE, S.C. - Brittany Major hit .348 with nine kills to lead Mercer past Furman, 3-0 (21-15, 25-15, 26-24), Friday night at Alley Gymnasium in Greenville, S.C.

The Paladins fall to 7-18 overall and 2-13 in SoCon play, while the Bears improve to 15-11 overall and 12-4 in SoCon play.

Freshman Bella Tolone paced Furman with eight kills, while senior Neci Harris and Sydney Tanner each added seven kills.  Harris logged a team-high four blocks, and junior Sarah Turner led the Paladins with 18 assists.  Junior Andrea Aceveda posted 14 digs in the match. 

For the Bears, Mykole Morgan also logged nine kills, and Agnieska Paskevic totaled 33 assists.  Megan Smith led Mercer with 18 digs.

In set one, Furman jumped out to an early 5-2 lead off kills by Harris, Tolone, and Chandler Parker, before Mercer came back to tie the set at 5-all.  The teams traded points back and forth and were tied at 12-apiece before the Bears went on an 11-1 run to take control of the set, 23-13.  A block assist by Natalie Dunn and Kelsey Watkins kept the Paladins in the set, but Mercer won the final two points for a 25-15 victory.

Mercer built a 13-4 lead to open set two but Furman put together a 5-3 run, sparked by three kills from Tanner, to remain in the set at 16-9.  The Paladins capitalized off multiple Bear errors to cut the deficit to 21-14 before Mercer took four of the final five points to win set two, also 25-15. 

The teams battled through 13 ties in set three.  Mercer took a two-point advantage at 19-17, but Furman answered with consecutive points off a kill by Mikaela Schultz and a block by Parker and Harris to tie the score at 19-all.  The teams remained tied at 21-21 before the Bears reeled off three-straight points to reach match point, 24-21.  Furman wouldn't go away quietly, taking Mercer to three match points with a kill from Tolone, a Mercer error, and a kill by Tanner tying the match at 24-all.  The Bears then put together consecutive kills for the 26-24 win.

The Paladins conclude the regular season Saturday when they entertain Samford at 7 p.m.