BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball pushed SoCon South Division leader Furman to five sets Friday evening after falling behind 2-1 but it was not enough as the Mountaineers came up just short to an impressive Paladin squad. With the win, FU remains unbeaten in conference play, improving to 15-3 overall and 8-0 in the SoCon, keeping its eight match winning streak alive. Appalachian gave the Paladins their best SoCon contest of the season as the Apps are the lone conference team to take Furman to five sets. With the loss, ASU drops to 8-13 overall and 4-3 on the season, suffering its first home SoCon loss of 2009.

The Black and Gold started the match off slow, falling behind 11-3 with Caroline Adams leading the Paladin attack, recording three points for FU. Appalachian was never able to comeback in the set, as the closest the Mountaineers would cut the deficit was six points at the 16-10 mark. The Black and Gold struggled down the stretch, notching just three points to close out the match, while Furman tallied nine to grab a 25-13 win.

It was a back and forth affair during second set action, with the set knotted on 11 different occasions and five different lead changes occurring. A Furman blocking error put the Apps 8-7 early on, and a Caroline Sedon kill and Maggie Seeds and Sedon block assist pushed Appalachian's advantage to 10-7. FU would not back down, tying the score again at the 12 apiece before two points from Seeds and senior Becca Norris gave the Mountaineers another two point lead.

ASU took its final lead of the set at the 18-17 mark and never looked back, making the score 20-17 with Maja Jechorek recording three straight kills and Norris and Kasey Sauls combining for a block assist. It was all Appalachian from there on out, with Norris scoring yet another kill and Sedon and Jechorek earning a block assist to tie the match at one all and give the Apps a 25-20 second set victory.

It was all Furman in the third set, taking the 8-2 lead, with Adams scoring five of the Paladins first eight points. It didn't get much easier for the Black and Gold, who found themselves at a 19-12 disadvantage Adams and Kelly Kirby anchoring FU's offensive assault. Furman continued with its strong play and rolled to a 25-17 third set win, taking the 2-1 match lead.

The Apps picked up their pace in the fourth set and took advantage of three straight Paladin errors to go up 6-3 early on. Despite the early lead, a 6-2 Paladin run, lead by Kirby who had four kills, put Furman back on top, 15-10. Five points would be the largest of margins for Appalachian who went on a 7-1 streak of their own to regain the lead at 17-16, thanks in part to points by Sedon, Seeds and freshman Kelsey Kuehner.

Furman came within as close as one point, and tied the match two more times, but ASU closed out fourth set play on a 5-2 run, as sophomore Kelly Rhein helped push the Mountaineers to the 25-21 fourth set win.

Unfortunately for ASU, the Apps could not carry their momentum into the fifth set, as Furman went up by as many as four points earning a 9-5 lead. Appalachian came as close as one point, with Kelly Rhein leading the offense, scoring three kills. Despite the effort, it was not enough as Furman proved why it is one of the strongest teams in the conference, taking the 15-11 fifth set win and thrilling 3-2 match victory.

Three Mountaineers finished the match with double-figure kills, with Kuehner having a team-best 13. Defensively, it was all Cassie Engelgau who had a season-best 28 digs.

ASU caps off its homestand with a match against Wofford, Saturday October 17 at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.