Ashley Johnson led all players with a match-high 12 kills.
Furman 3, Morgan State 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 9, 2011)-Morgan State's Ashley Johnson notched a match-high 12 kills, but it wasn't enough, as Furman defeated Morgan State 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) in the opening match of the Hilton University 49er Invitational on Friday afternoon at Halton Arena.
The loss was the sixth straight for the Lady Bears, who fell to 2-6 on the season. Simone Durham added six kills and Erin Cox led Morgan State in digs, tying a match-high with nine. Jourdan Lemons finished the evening with a match-high 23 assists in a losing effort.
Furman (4-3) was led by Ambrester Chandler, who tallied 10 kills and had seven digs. Shaffer Alexis added nine kills and Kirby Kelly finished with a team-high 14 assists.
In the opening set, Furman used runs of 6-0 and 6-1 to jump out to a 14-4 lead and closed out the match with a 9-3 spurt to take a 25-9 victory. The Paladines would finish with 14 kills to Morgan's six.
The Lady Bears fell behind 8-5 in the second set, before going on a mini 4-0 spurt to take a brief 9-8 lead. The Paladines used a 6-1 run to go in front 14-10, then put together a 7-2 run to end the set for a 25-16 win.
Morgan State faced an 8-3 deficit in Set 3 and would get as close as 10-14. But Furman put to rest any chances of a Morgan comeback with an 8-1 run to take a commanding 22-11 cushion. The Lady Bears would hang around, scoring four of the next five points, before falling 25-15.
The Paladines finished the match with a hitting percentage of .393, while Morgan State hit for just .068. Furman's Christina Dorismond recorded three blocks to help the Paladines to a 3-2 advantage in blocks over Morgan State.
The Lady Bears return to action on Saturday, when they take on host Charlotte at 12:30 p.m., before closing out tournament play with a 4:30 p.m. contest against Campbell.
