Greenville, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team battled back from 2-0 down to force a fifth, and deciding, frame on Friday evening, but Mercer scored six of the last eight points in the final frame for a 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 13-15) victory over the Paladins in Southern Conference action from Alley Gym.

Furman drops to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in the SoCon. With the win, Mercer improves to 13-11 for the year and 9-4 in conference play.

The Paladins had three players compile double-doubles in Mary Beth Headley, Emily Navarro, and Lauren Haynes. Headley registered her team leading seventh double-double of the season after leading Furman with 14 kills and 16 digs. Haynes added her sixth double-double on 13 kills and 10 digs. Navarro compiled her fourth double-double after tying her career best 45 assists to go with 11 digs. Lindsay Walch contributed eight kills and Izzy Castelloe seven. Defensively, Kennedy Seekford provided 22 digs and Grainne McGrath totaled eight assisted blocks. Seekford has now recorded 20 or more digs in four straight matches.

Kylee Quigley had a double-double of 22 kills, a match high, and 19 digs to lead the Bears. Gia Padilla also posted a double-double on 10 kills and 16 digs. Skyler Bumpers tied Padilla with 10 kills. Kiera McCarles dished out 41 assists and Abbey Havrilla had 22 digs.

Furman opened the fifth set on a 6-2 run with a Mercer attack error giving the Paladins a four-point lead. The Bears would tie the set at 9-9 before McGrath posted two consecutive kills to put the Paladins back in front by two. Mercer finished the set on a 6-2 run to claim the 15-13 win and 3-2 match victory.

Furman fell behind 2-0 after the Bears won the opening set 25-22 and followed with a 25-19 triumph in set two.

The Paladins held Mercer to just .088 hitting in the third set as Headley, Navarro, and Haynes combined for 13 of their 15 kills. The teams traded the first 16 points before Furman used a 6-3 run to go ahead 14-11 on a Bear ball handling error. The Bears answered with six of the next 10 points and trailed 18-17. The Paladins closed out the set on a 7-2 run and captured the set, 25-19, on back-to-back kills from Haynes and Sydney Tanner.

The fourth set saw the score even 14 times with six lead changes. Mercer held an early 9-7 lead until Furman went on an 8-5 run and led 15-14 off a bad set. After the Bears went in front 19-16, the Paladins concluded the set with a 9-3 run. Mercer was forced into six attack errors during the final stages with the last giving Furman the 25-22 win, forcing a fifth set.

The Paladins concluded the contest hitting .166 as a team while holding a 58-56 advantage in kills and 56-54 in assists. Furman recorded double-digit blocks for the eighth time this season after finishing with 13.

The Paladins play their final home match of the season on Saturday afternoon when they host Chattanooga at 4 p.m. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The match is being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will also be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB).

Furman will hold its Senior Day ceremony prior to first serve honoring the class of 2023:  Ella Abraham, Kaeli Braswell, Mikaela Schultz, and Sydney Tanner.