Wilmington, N.C. – The Furman volleyball team dropped its first match of the season on Saturday morning falling 3-0 (11-25, 21-25, 11-25) to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during day two of the UNCW Hampton Inn University Classic from UNCW's Hanover Hall.

Furman falls to 1-1 overall while Wake Forest improves to 2-0 on the season.

Bella Tolone led the Paladins offensively with six kills, while Neci Harris and Mikaela Schultz added five apiece. Sarah Turner and Ella Abraham combined for 21 assists with Turner dishing out 12 and Abraham nine. Maya Mrus and Andrea Aceveda both finished with seven digs.

Ashley Slater led all players with a game-high 13 kills for the Demon Deacons. Andrea Fuentes had 39 assists, and Kalani Whillock and Kamryn Malloy contributed 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

Furman stayed within two points of Wake Forest during the opening stages of the first set and trailed 7-5 after Schultz connected on a kill. Tolone would later make the score 10-7 following her kill. The Demon Deacons closed out the set on a 15-4 run to win 25-11 after Slater's kill.

The teams split the first eight points of the second set before three consecutive Wake Forest attack errors put the Paladins ahead 10-7. Tolone gave Furman its largest lead of the set at 13-9 with her kill. The Demon Deacons came back with a 10-5 run to lead 17-15, forcing the Paladins into a timeout. Wake Forest scored eight of the final 14 points out the timeout for the 25-21 victory.

The Demon Deacons scored the first six points in the third set and began the frame on a 9-3 run. After Furman got to within five, 13-8, on a solo block from Harris, Wake Forest broke the set open courtesy of a 6-1 run to hold a 19-9 advantage. The Demon Deacons recorded the final five points of the set to earn the 25-11 win, and capture the match, 3-0.

The Paladins close out play at the UNCW Hampton Inn University Classic at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening against host UNCW.