Mercer University
Chattanooga
Mercer Falls to Chattanooga in Thursday Matchup, 3-1
10/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer and Chattanooga squared off on Thursday evening in the Bears' annual Susan G. Komen Dig Pink game to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. The Mocs managed to leave Macon with a 3-1 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Against one of the SoCon's top teams, Mercer knew it had to get off to a quick start and that's exactly what the Bears did. The Orange and Black won the first set by a slim margin at 25-23 to gain an early 1-0 advantage. Chattanooga responded in the second stanza, winning the set 25-20 to level the match at one set apiece.
The Mocs were able to keep their form and momentum going in the third even after the 10-minute intermission between sets and rolled to a 25-14 victory in set number three to take its first lead of the night in the match at 2-1. Mercer refused to go quietly and put itself in position to force a final fifth set after taking a 23-20 lead. However Chattanooga rallied and scored six of the last seven points to take the fourth set 26-24 and the match 3-1.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Freshman Paige Alsten turned in a solid all-around performance on Thursday evening. Alsten tied for second on the team for the match in kills with nine but was extremely efficient in doing so, racking up her nine kills in just 16 attempts. The middle blocker finished with an attack percentage of .438. Alsten also dominated at the net on the defensive side, blocking a team-high seven block attempts.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Mercer attack was very balanced against the Mocs, as six players recorded at least six kills in the match. Sophomore Morgan MacGilvary led the way for the Orange and Black with 10, followed by Alsten and senior Monica Johnson who each accounted for nine. Sophomore Emily Krogman recorded eight kills while freshman Heather Swann and Jordan Gollon added seven and six, respectively.
NOTABLES
- With the loss, the Bears are now 9-13 against Chattanooga in the all-time series.
- Penrod led the team in digs with 11 and has recorded double digit digs in all 21 matches she has played this season.
- Setters Hannah Noon and Waliczek each recorded 15 or more assists. Waliczek led the team with 21 assists and Noon added 16 of her own.
- MacGilvary has now led or tied for the team lead in kills in 19 of 24 matches.
- With seven blocks Alsten has now had multiple blocks in 19 consecutive matches and 22-of-24 matches on the season.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer's loss drops its record to 9-15 on the season and 4-8 in league action. The Mocs improve to a league best 19-4 on the year and 8-2 in Southern Conference play.
UP NEXT
The Bears wrap up their home schedule for the 2015 season on Saturday, Oct. 31 with a match against East Tennessee State at 3 p.m. The day will also serve as Senior Day as Mercer will honor Monica Johnson and Jordan Gollon.
STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest information and up-to-the-minute updates on Mercer volleyball, please follow Mercer volleyball on Twitter at @MercerBearsVB.
