Greenville, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team began Southern Conference play on Wednesday evening dropping a 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 10-25, 22-25) decision to The Citadel Bulldogs inside Alley Gymnasium.

Furman falls to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Citadel improves to 8-6 on the season and 1-0 in league play.

Ava Augustson and Sarah Turner both recorded double-doubles to lead the Paladins on Wednesday. Augustson poured in a career high 20 kills to lead all players while adding a season best 13 digs. Turner compiled her team-leading fifth double-double of the year on 32 assists and tying her career high of 19 digs. Mary Beth Headley and Lauren Haynes provided seven and six kills, respectively. Defensively, Andrea Aceveda tied her season high of 19 digs.

Ali Ruffin and Belle Hogan each registered a double-double for the Bulldogs. Ruffin led the team with 17 kills and totaled 12 digs while Hogan contributed 38 assists and 19 digs. Makaya Middleton finished with 12 kills and Maddy Cardenas 11. Kenzie Kellerman tied for the team-lead with 19 digs.

The opening set featured 13 ties and nine lead changes with Furman holding the largest lead of the set at 15-11 following a service error by The Citadel. The Bulldogs came back five times before back-to-back kills from Turner and Kelsey Watkins gave the Paladins a 21-19 lead, forcing The Citadel into a timeout. Furman would sit at set point, 24-23, after a kill by Augustson only to see the Bulldogs score the final three points for the 26-24 win.

Augustson tallied six kills on .455 hitting in the second set as the Paladins began on an 8-4 run and would later go in front 12-7 after Turner's kill. The Citadel managed to cut its deficit down to two before Furman responded with six of the next seven points to lead 18-11 on Watkins' solo block. A solo block from Headley put the Paladins back ahead by five, 20-15, but the Bulldogs made a late charge and trailed 24-23 after a Furman attack error. Headley captured the set for Furman the next play with her kill.

The Citadel scored the first 12 points of the third set before an attack error got the Paladins on the board. Furman got as close as nine points at 18-9 when Augustson registered a kill. The Bulldogs recorded the final four points the secure the 25-10 victory.

The fourth set also saw the score tied 13 times and began with the teams splitting the first 12 points. The Paladins would get a pair of kills from Augustson and Grainne McGrath to put them in front 8-6, leading to a timeout by The Citadel. Sydney Tanner extended Furman's lead out to 10-7 but the Bulldogs answered with a 7-2 run to hold a 14-12 advantage. Coming out of a timeout, the Paladins got a service error and a Haynes kill to even the score at 14-14. The Citadel scored six of the next nine points to take a 20-17 lead. Furman fought back courtesy of a 5-1 run and held a late 22-21 lead when McGrath and Tanner combined for a block. The Bulldogs ended with four consecutive points for the 25-22 set win and 3-1 match victory.

The match saw the score tied a total of 29 times and the lead changing hands on 14 different occasions.

The Paladins concluded the match with a season high 12 blocks highlighted by McGrath who matched her career best of five (one solo, four assisted). Tanner added four assisted blocks while Watkins finished with four total (one solo, three assisted).

Furman plays its first conference road matches of the season this weekend, September 23-24, traveling to Chattanooga and East Tennessee State.