STATESBORO, Ga. – North Carolina A&T had everything going in its favor until a slump in the second spilled over into the third and fourth sets as the Furman Paladins defeated the Aggies in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-15) during the second day of the Eagle Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern University at Hanner Fieldhouse on Friday.

In losing their second straight match, the Aggies dropped to 4-3 even though senior Hannah Howell recorded her third double-double of the season and the 11th of her career with 14 kills and 10 digs. She also had two service aces and two total blocks. Meanwhile, Furman improved to 4-3 behind 18 kills from Chandler Parker.

A&T's win in the first set was insane. The Aggies trailed 21-13 after an ace from Parker. But the Aggies ran off nine straight points, including two aces from sophomore Leonor Polezzi, to take a 22-21 lead over the Paladins.

After two Furman timeouts and the Aggies 9-0 run, Parker finally broke through again with a kill to tie the set 22-22. Howell gave the Aggies the lead with a kill, and Ross secured set point with an ace. Howell put the Aggies ahead 1-0 with a kill to end the set. The Aggies hit .270 for the set, and Howell had five kills and zero attack errors on seven attacks (.714).

The Aggies looked solid in the second set as well. In the second, they overcame an 18-13 deficit as Howell completed a 7-2 A&T run with a kill to tie set at 20. But the Paladins scored five straight points behind two kills from Ava Augustson to take set No. 2 and even the match at 1-1.

"Sometimes the wheels on the bus go round and round, and sometimes they fall off," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "For two sets, I thought we played very well. We were serving tough, hitting the right targets, and flowing pretty well. We slipped at the end of the second and struggled to recover from there.

We definitely lost the wideout game as Furman served us off the court. We will regroup tomorrow and get after it."

A&T hit a combined .014 over the final two sets, while the Paladins hit .333 over the final two, turning the match in their favor. For the first time this season, freshman Tyne Ross failed to secure double-figure kills as she ended the afternoon with seven. Senior Maya Johnson posted 10 kills and had a .238 hitting percentage.

Polezzi added 35 assists and five aces, and sophomore Mikala Sampson had eight kills and three total blocks. The Aggies will close out the Eagle Invitational on Saturday with a 10 a.m. contest against Charleston Southern.