Greenville, N.C. – The Furman volleyball team closed out play at the Pirate Invitational on Saturday afternoon dropping a 3-0 (19-25, 14-25, 16-25) decision to the Towson Tigers at ECU's Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Furman drops to 1-2 on the season while Towson improves to 3-0 overall.

Lauren Haynes registered her second match of the tournament with double digit kills, leading the Paladins with a match high 14 to go with five digs. Ava Augustson contributed nine kills and Hadlee Ackerman added nine digs. Ella Abraham and Sarah Turner combined for 25 assists.

Lydia Wiers led the Tigers offensively with 10 kills while Fay Bakodimou provided nine and Victoria Barrett eight. Sarah Jordan and Katie McCracken totaled 35 assists. Defensively, Barrett registered a team best seven digs.

The teams traded the opening 12 points of the first set before Haynes put Furman ahead 7-6 with her kill. Towson answered with a 14-3 run and held a 20-10 lead after Wiers connected on a kill. The Paladins attempted a late rally and got to within four points, 22-18, on Augustson's service ace. The Tigers then scored three of the final four points to secure the 25-19 win.

Towson started the second set recording five of the initial seven points before Augustson collected a kill to trim Furman's deficit to one. The Tigers broke the set open with an 11-6 run to go in front 16-9 midway. Towson closed out the set scoring four consecutive points for the 25-14 victory.

The Tigers picked up the first two points of the third set before the Paladins reeled off three of the next six to trail 5-3 following a kill from Augustson. Furman stayed within two points twice throughout the opening stages with the last coming at 9-7 on Haynes' kill. Towson would respond by going on an 11-3 run to take a 10-point lead, 20-10, and led by that margin three more times the remainder of the set. The Tigers went on to capture the set, 25-16, and win the match, 3-0.

The Paladins would hit .149 for the contest while Augustson and Genevieve Perry both collected an assisted block.

Furman remains on the road next week, September 1-2, facing Kennesaw State and High Point at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga. The Paladins battle Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. on September 1 and High Point at 1 p.m. on September 2.