GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team remains undefeated in Southern Conference play following its fifth straight victory Thursday evening, a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21) triumph over the Mercer Bears inside Alley Gymnasium.

Furman, who also improved to 5-1 at home with the victory, moves to 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the SoCon. With the loss, Mercer drops to 4-12 on the season and 0-3 in league play.

Ashley Stein and Lauren Haynes paced the Paladin offense combining for 29 of the team's 50 kills in the contest. Stein led Furman with a match high 15 on .387 hitting while Haynes poured in 14. Emily Navarro and Eva Wheeler both dished out 19 assists. Navarro contributed her team leading seventh double-double of the year after finishing with 10 digs. Kennedy Seekford led all players with 23 digs.

Sophia Henry also registered a match high 15 kills to lead the Bears offensively. Charlotte Thompson added 12 kills. Sammi Bergjans totaled a double-double of 26 assists and 12 digs. Aubri Martin tallied a team best 22 digs.

The Paladins were limited to .179 hitting in the first set as Mercer held off a late Furman rally for the 25-22 win. Stein led the Paladins with three kills while Navarro had four assists, along with Wheeler, and five digs. The Bears built an 18-11 lead midway before Furman rallied back with an 11-4 run to tie the score at 22-22. Mercer committed five attack errors during that stretch with a service error tying the score. The Bears ended the set scoring three consecutive points.

The Paladins bounced back in the second set with a 25-22 victory behind a .235 hitting performance. Six different players registered a kill led by Haynes' five on .625 hitting. Navarro dished out seven assists and Seekford collected three digs. Furman recorded eight of the first 12 points and took its largest lead of the set, 14-8, behind a kill from Haynes. Kacie Moore maintained a five-point cushion for the Paladins when her kill put the score at 17-12. Furman led 20-16 late when Mercer used a 5-2 run to trail 22-21. The Paladins held off the rally to win 25-22 when Haynes connected on a kill.

Furman benefitted from six Bear service errors throughout the third set to earn another 25-22 triumph. The Paladins compiled a .216 hitting percentage with Haynes compiling another four kills. Wheeler finished with seven assists and Seekford 10 digs. The third set featured 12 ties with five coming in the first 26 points. Mercer went ahead 9-6 to open the frame before Furman came back to even the score at 12-12 on Moore's kill. The Bears would go back in front 18-15 until the Paladins answered with three straight points. Trailing 20-19, Furman closed out the set on a 6-2 run for the three-point win. The Paladins clinched the frame off a bad set by Mercer.

Furman hit .143 in the fourth set while limiting the Bears to just an .047 clip to claim the four-set victory with a 25-21 win. Stein totaled seven of the Paladins' 11 kills on .417 hitting, Wheeler added five assists, and Seekford six digs. The first 16 points saw the score tied five different times. Furman followed with a 6-1 run to take a 14-9 lead after a Mercer attack error. The Bears responded with an 8-1 run and would later hold a 19-17 advantage. The Paladins fought back to tie the score and went in front 20-19 on Wheeler's service ace. Stein secured the match with her kill.

Furman concluded the contest hitting .193 as a team and led 47-46 in assists and 64-63 in digs. The Paladins tied their season high of 12 blocks led by Tennyson Gorman's career best 10. Gorman becomes the first Furman player to have double digit blocks in a match since September 4, 2024, when teammate Izzy Castelloe also posted 10 in a 3-2 win at USC Upstate.

The Paladins remain at Alley Gymnasium tomorrow evening to host The Citadel at 6 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 be posted on the Furman volleyball Twitter page (@FurmanVB). Admission to all Paladin home matches this season is free of charge with first-come, first-serve seating.

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