GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Alabama State opened play at the Furman Invitational and dropped a three-set match to the host team Furman on Thursday night at Alley Gymnasium, falling 25-15, 25-21, 25-16.

The Hornets opened strong in the second set with early kills from Jyriah Morgan and back-to-back service aces by Brooke Adams to jump out to a 5-0 lead. However, Furman responded with a balanced attack led by Kacie Moore (21 kills, .400 hitting) and Tennyson Gorman (six kills, .385), rallying to take control of the set and eventually the match.

Morgan paced Alabama State with 12 kills on 33 attempts, while Kaylen Hines added six kills and a block. Sierra Scanlan dished out 17 assists and chipped in five digs, and libero Trinity Mitchell led the defense with 16 digs.

As a team, Alabama State hit .064 with 33 kills, while Furman countered with a .337 hitting percentage and 10 total blocks.

ASU will be back in action Friday when they play Winthrop at 3 p.m.