Mercer University
East Tennessee State
Mercer Drops Home Finale to ETSU, 3-1
10/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer played its final match in Hawkins Arena for the 2015 campaign on Saturday afternoon as the Bears hosted East Tennessee State in a SoCon showdown. The Buccaneers were too much for Mercer on Saturday, leaving Macon with a 3-1 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer came out fired up and ready to go after the short Senior Day ceremony before the match to honor Monica Johnson and Jordan Gollon. The Bears were able to take the opening set by a score of 25-21 to gain the early advantage. The second stanza was tight throughout but ETSU did just enough to level the match at a set apiece after taking the set 25-22.
The Buccaneers used the momentum from the second and carried it into the third, a set in which Mercer struggled to find any type of rhythm as a unit. ETSU won the third 25-10 to grab a 2-1 lead in the match. Despite the Orange and Black's best effort to send the match to the fifth set, the Buccaneers did just enough in the fourth to take the set by a score of 25-22 and the match 3-1.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Sophomore Morgan MacGilvary led the team in kills with 13 on the afternoon. Equally impressive was the Plano, Texas, native's performance from the service line, as MacGilvary fired five aces against ETSU. The outside hitter has now recorded five or more aces in three of the last five matches. MacGilvary also posted three digs and a block in the match.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Mercer came into Saturday's match ranked 10th in aces per set in the country at the DI level. The Bears turned in another impressive performance against ETSU, dishing out 10 aces over the four sets. Saturday marks the sixth time this season the Bears have reached double figures in the ace department in a match, including four of their last six contests. MacGilvary led the way with five aces, followed by Claire Waliczek and Bailey Noon who each totaled two. Heather Swann also got involved in the action with one of her own.
NOTABLES
- Mercer finishes the 2015 season with a 7-4 record at home, the most home victories since also winning seven matches in 2011.
- With the loss, the Bears are now 5-14 against ETSU in the all-time series.
- Tori Penrod finished the day with 10 digs and has now recorded double digit digs in all 22 matches she has played this season.
- Swann led the Bears in digs with 11 against ETSU, marking the seventh time this season she has totaled 10 or more.
- Setters Hannah Noon and Waliczek each recorded 15 or more assists. Noon led the team with 20 assists and Waliczek added 18 of her own.
- MacGilvary has now led or tied for the team lead in kills in 20 of 25 matches.
- With three blocks Alsten has now had multiple blocks in 20 consecutive matches and 23-of-25 matches on the season.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer's loss drops its record to 9-16 on the season and 4-9 in league action. The Buccaneers improve to a league best 16-9 on the year and 7-5 in Southern Conference play.
UP NEXT
Mercer travels to the state of North Carolina for back-to-back matches next weekend. The Bears are set to face UNCG on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. and then are scheduled to travel to Western Carolina for a match on Saturday, Nov. 7 at noon.
STAY SOCIAL
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