BIRMINGHAM, ALA. - Freshman Bella Tolone hit .405 with 20 kills as No. 9 Furman shocked top-seeded Mercer, 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-21, 25-16), Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Championship at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala., marking the first time since 1995 that the No. 1 seed has lost in its first tournament game and the first time in league history that the No. 9 seed has advanced to the semifinals. 

The Paladins (9-19, 2-14 SoCon), who avenged two regular season losses to the Bears, advance to face No. 4 Wofford in the semifinals on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.  Mercer finishes its season at 16-12 overall and 12-4 versus league opponents. 

"Obviously, I am super excited for our entire team," said Furman head coach Michelle Young following Friday's win.  "We have talked about how the tournament is a fresh start, and the girls understood that and took advantage of the opportunity.  We had a more balanced attack, we executed better, and we battled.  And we're not done yet!"

Tolone posted a double-double, adding 12 digs in the victory.  Junior Sarah Turner led the team with 23 assists, while junior Andrea Aceveda notched a team-high 17 digs.  Senior Neci Harris logged 12 kills, sophomore Ella Abraham added 19 assists, and sophomore Maya Mrus tallied 10 digs.  Harris and sophomore Sydney Tanner each recorded four blocks for the Paladins.  

Rayanne de Oliveira hit .478 with 13 kills for Mercer, while Jaida Howell paced the Bears with 17 kills.  Agnieska Paskevic posted 47 assists, and Megan Smith had 15 digs in the loss.

Mercer built a 5-2 lead to open set one and stretched the advantage to four at 8-4.  A kill by sophomore Mikaela Schultz ignited a 5-1 Paladin run to tie the match at 9-all.  Furman built a 12-10 lead before Mercer tied the match, and the teams remained tied at 15-apiece.  The Bears took a two-point lead, 17-15, but kills by Tanner and Harris tied the match at 17.  With the teams tied at 20-20, Furman took control of the set, winning the next five points off three kills by Schultz and a kill by freshman Chandler Parker. 

Furman took an early 5-1 lead in set two and stretched the lead to 10-4.  Mercer put together a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to two points at 12-10.  The Paladins maintained the two-point advantage at 18-16, but the Bears tied the match at 18-all, and the teams battled through five more tied to land at 25-all.  Mercer won the final two points to take set two, 27-25, and tie the match going into the break.

The teams fought through six ties to open set three, settling at 11-all.  A Bear service error, coupled with a service ace by Harris, put the Paladins ahead, 13-11.  Mercer again tied the match at 14-apiece, and the teams traded points to remain tied at 18-18.  A kill by Tanner, plus three Bear errors, gave Furman a 21-18 lead.  Two Mercer errors, plus a final kill from Harris, gave Furman a 25-21 victory.

It was all Furman in set four, as the Paladins jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead.  Mercer went on a 7-2 run to trim the margin to just one point, 12-11, but kills from Harris and Tolone put the Paladins ahead, 15-11.  The Bears again cut the lead to one at 15-14, but the Paladins went on an 8-0 run to dominate the set, with Tolone tallying four kills in the final run.  Abraham recorded a kill and a service ace, and sophomore Kelsey Watkins logged a kill in the final points of Furman's 25-16 victory.