MacGilvary, Mercer Sweep Furman to Snap Skid

Saturday, October 15

Macon, Ga.

3 PM

Mercer University

11-8, 3-4SoCon

Furman

8-11, 4-3SoCon

FUR

Mercer

10/15/2016 5:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

MACON, Ga. – Less than 24 hours after Mercer suffered its third straight loss in Southern Conference play, head coach Damian Elder had a feeling his volleyball team would find all the motivation it needed to right the ship on Saturday.

Elder's prediction spot on, as the Bears snapped their skid by defeating Furman in straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-23), at Hawkins Arena. Mercer improved to 11-8 (3-4 SoCon) while dropping Furman to 8-11 (4-3).

Behind the individual performance of junior outside hitter Morgan MacGilvary, the Bears out-blocked Furman 11-7 and got back on track offensively with a team hitting percentage of .267.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (25-21) | Mercer tallied five team blocks in the opening set, including a pair of momentum-changing solo blocks by Emily Krogman and Morgan MacGilvary that kept Furman at bay. MacGilvary led the way with five kills on 10 total attacks while Taylor Spence, who earned her first career start, added a trio.

Set 2 (25-16) | It was MacGilvary again that added the fire power in the second set, as she recorded back-to-back kills to complete a four-point rally that gave Mercer an 11-8 lead it never looked back from. The Bears would eventually win nine of the final 12 points in the frame, highlighted by kills from MacGilvary, Spence, Heather Swann and Gabbi Meyering.

Set 3 (25-23) | Furman appeared to be on its way to forcing a fourth set as it led late, 21-17, but the Bears completed another rally behind the offense of MacGilvary and Spence. The duo came up with back-to-back kills that sparked a four-point run to tie the set at 21 apiece.

After Furman regained a 22-21 lead, Mercer roared back behind three kills from MacGilvary off of sets from Claire Waliczek to claim four of the final five points and seal the sweep.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
No other player matched the total package performance of Morgan MacGilvary on Saturday, as the junior outside hitter led all players with 17 kills (.350 hitting percentage) and added a match-high six blocks. MacGilvary has notched double-digit kills in 11 straight matches as well.

COACH ELDER'S TAKE
"After losing at Western Carolina last night in a match we felt we could've come away from with a win, the team was entirely motivated to come out and beat Furman today," said head coach Damian Elder. "Our blocking today – especially by our outside hitters – was exactly what we needed. Morgan changed the momentum more than once with her blocking. I was also really impressed with the play of Taylor Spence and Bailey Noon. That combo was just what we needed to be victorious today."

NOTABLES

Mercer surpassed its 2015 win total (10) with the 3-0 victory on Saturday.
Mercer improved to 5-1 at Hawkins Arena this season. Furman dropped to 1-7 on the road.
Mercer is 4-2 in three-set matches this season.
The Bears snapped a seven-match losing streak to Furman but still trail by a wide margin in the all-time series, 4-14.
Taylor Spence earned the first start of her career and rose to the occasion, totaling eight kills on 17 attempts for a team-high .412 hitting percentage.
Tori Penrod led Mercer with 13 digs and has reached double-digits in all 19 matches this season.
Claire Waliczek now owns a team-high seven double-doubles. She recorded 15 assists and 12 digs.

RECORD UPDATE

Mercer: 11-8 (3-4 SoCon)
Furman: 8-11 (4-3 SoCon)

UP NEXT
The Bears will host their second straight opponent when The Citadel (7-15, 0-6 SoCon) comes to Macon on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3. It also serves as Mercer's first mid-week match of the season.

Mercer defeated The Citadel, 3-1, in Charleston, South Carolina on Sept. 23 for its first conference win.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Volleyball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBearsVB (Twitter), and @mercervolleyball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.