Mercer University
12-12, 4-8SoCon
Wofford
15-13, 7-6SoCon
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Mercer Falters in Five-Set Loss to Wofford
11/2/2016 10:10:00 PM | Volleyball
MACON, Ga. – A back-and-forth fifth set proved indicative of Wednesday's entire five-set thriller at Hawkins Arena, which left Mercer in heartbreak as Wofford escaped Macon with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 26-24, 22-24) victory.
Mercer (12-12, 4-8 Southern Conference) reached match point six times in the fifth set but was unable to finish off the Terriers (15-13, 7-6) and lost its fourth straight match dating back to Oct. 21. A combined 43 kills by Catie Cronister and Colleen Reilly paced the Terriers and proved to be difficult for Mercer to match all night.
Mercer will return to the court quickly as the Orange and Black travels to Greenville, South Carolina on Friday to face Furman at 7 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The decisive fifth set got interesting when Paige Alsten and Ellie James notched consecutive kills to rally Mercer from a 14-13 deficit and start a rollercoaster finish at Hawkins Arena. Wofford proved resilient as Mercer reached match point six times before the Terriers closed the book with kills from Cronister and Alex Holland to win it 24-22.
The teams traded blows and sets to eventually set up the wild finish in the fifth set. Wofford claimed the opener, 25-22, with a .314 hitting percentage and five of the final seven points. Mercer appeared to have total momentum heading into the fifth set after its 26-24 victory in the fourth. Seven of the final 11 points in the fourth frame were in favor of the Bears, led by two kills from Danielle Faust and an ace by James.
NOTABLES
- Mercer is now 1-1 in mid-week matches this season.
- Mercer held Wofford to sub-.100 hitting percentages in three of fifth sets.
- The Bears dropped to 6-3 at Hawkins Arena while Wofford improved to 7-4 on the road.
- Â Four Bears reached double-digit digs Wednesday, the most in a single match this year. Tori Penrod led the way with 25 while James added 17, Hannah Noon added 15 and Claire Waliczek added 12.
- Â Noon and Waliczek additionally recorded double-doubles with 25 and 20 assists, respectively, to pair with their 15 and 12 digs.
- Morgan MacGilvary got back on track offensively with 14 kills after three straight matches of single-digit kill totals. She notched a career-high eight blocks as well.
- Mercer reached 10 aces for the fifth time, doubling the five by Wofford. James totaled a career-high five aces alone to pace the Bears.
COACH ELDER'S TAKE
"Before the match I thought we'd match up well with their two kills leaders – Catie Cronister and Colleen Reilly," said head coach Damian Elder. "Turns out, we did in general, but just not in the key moments we needed to step up for. That was enough separation in a match decided by two points…43 total kills by Wofford's two best players made the difference tonight.
"The thing we've been lacking the last couple weeks finally reappeared tonight at Hawkins Arena. We had much more energy defensively and all of our attackers executed with what they needed to do."
RECORD UPDATE
- Mercer: 12-12 (4-8 SoCon)
- Wofford: 15-13 (7-6 SoCon)Â
UP NEXT
- Mercer: at Furman (9-15, 5-7 SoCon) | Greenville, S.C. | Friday, Nov. 4 | 7 p.m.
- Wofford: vs. Chattanooga (15-10, 8-4 SoCon) | Spartanburg, S.C. | Friday, Nov. 4 | 6 p.m.
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.
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