Wilmington, N.C. – Neci Harris had a match-high 21 kills and Bella Tolone recorded 16 to help lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18, 15-13) victory over the UNCW Seahawks on Saturday evening in the final match of the UNCW Hampton Inn University Classic from Hanover Hall.

Furman improves to 2-1 overall while UNCW falls to 1-2 on the season.

Harris and Tolone were part of an offensive attack for the Paladins that saw them hit a season-high .237, finishing with 58 kills as a team. Harris concluded the match with a .545 hitting percentage and fell one kill shy of matching her career-high. Tolone compiled her first career double-double after registering 10 digs.

Mikaela Schultz provided seven kills and 12 digs, and Chandler Parker posted six kills. Sarah Turner and Ella Abraham combined to dish out 51 assists, with Turner tallying 34 and Abraham 17. Andrea Aceveda led all players with 20 digs.

Katie Lanz had a team-best 19 kills for the Seahawks while Brianna Haggerty collected a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs. Annabelle Schall had 26 assists and Claire Sawyer 22.

The opening set featured nine ties with four coming in the final nine points. After splitting the first 10 points, Furman recorded the next three to lead 8-5 after a solo block from Kelsey Watkins. UNCW followed with an 11-5 run and held a 16-13 advantage midway. The Paladins answered with a 7-2 run of their own to go in front 20-18 when Abraham connected on a kill. Furman tied the score late at 23-23 on a combination block but the Seahawks got an attack error and service ace to win 25-23.

The second set also saw the score tied a total of nine times with each occurring before the 28^th point of the frame. The Paladins used two early attack errors from UNCW to take a 6-4 lead. The final tie of the set came at 14-14 when Kirsten Badowski recorded a kill for the Seahawks. Furman followed by scoring six of the next nine points to hold a 20-17 lead on Harris' kill. UNCW stayed within two until the final point when a service error gave the Paladins a 25-23 victory.

The Seahawks scored the first four points of the third set until Furman responded with a 9-4 run to go in front 9-8 on a kill from Schultz. UNCW would go ahead by four but a combination block from Harris and Parker trimmed the Paladins' deficit down to 15-13. The Seahawks broke the set open with a 7-4 run capped by a Furman service error to put the score at 22-17. Schall's service ace earned UNCW the 25-18 triumph.

The Paladins compiled six of the initial seven points of the fourth set and used a 14-4 run early to hold a 10-point advantage on Tolone's kill. Harris' service ace would give Furman its largest lead of the set at 21-10. The Seahawks attempted a late rally and got to within five points twice with the last coming at 23-18. A kill from Tolone and UNCW ball handling error led the Paladins to a 25-18 win.

Furman scored four straight points to begin the fifth frame which was capped by Harris' solo block. Following a timeout, the Seahawks came back to tie the score when back-to-back kills from Emma Chappell made it 8-8. The Paladins answered with the next three points and would hold a 13-10 lead late after a UNCW attack error. The Seahawks tied the score again at 13-13, forcing Furman into a timeout. A UNCW attack error and kill by Harris after the timeout lifted the Paladins to the 15-13 victory, and win the match, 3-2.

Furman also concluded the contest with a season-high 13 total blocks highlighted by Harris' five assisted and two solo. Watkins added three assisted and two solo, while Parker contributed four assisted and one solo.

The Paladins open their home schedule on Thursday, September 2 when they host Presbyterian at 6 p.m. from Alley Gymnasium.