Mercer University
14-12, 6-8SoCon
UNCG
15-11, 9-4SoCon
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Mercer Steals 3-1 Road Win at UNCG
11/5/2016 9:13:00 PM | Volleyball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Entering the weekend with a six-match win streak and one of the best home records (9-2) in the Southern Conference, UNCG has proved to be one of league's formidable teams this season. Whether Mercer received that memo or not, it clearly didn't make an impact on the Bears' intentions Saturday night.
Mercer claimed the first two sets en route to upending the Spartans, 3-1 (25-23, 26-24, 24-26, 26-24), at Fleming Gym and earned its second road victory in as many days to improve to 14-12 (6-8 SoCon). Late runs by both teams proved to be the deciding factors in all four sets. Morgan MacGilvary was the most dynamic player on the court with a match-high 21 kills while three Bears – Ellie James, Emily Krogman and Claire Waliczek – finished with double-doubles to pace the Orange and Black.
The two straight wins by the Bears come after a difficult four-match losing skid pushed them toward the bottom of the conference standings. Mercer will now enter the final week of the regular season with a chance to reach .500 in SoCon play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (25-23) | Mercer went on a 10-3 run to end the opening set with a 25-23 victory, beginning what would become a common theme of late pushes by both squads Saturday afternoon. Trailing 20-16, the Bears got three kills and an ace out of Krogman during the run, which eventually ended in a kill by MacGilvary. Hannah Noon added an ace in the rally as well.
Set 2 (26-24) | Mercer won 13 of the final 20 points to take a pivotal second set and head into the intermission with a confidence-boosting 2-0 lead in the match. Five Bears recorded at least two kills in the set, led by four from MacGilvary and three from Krogman. The balanced attack was complimented by a pair of UNCG service errors in the final points before MacGilvary put it away with a kill off of a set from Hannah Noon.
Set 3 (24-26) | Five of the Spartans' 14 team blocks came in the third frame as they made things interesting with a 26-24 set win of their own. Mercer registered nine attack errors for the second straight set and failed to pull away during a late rally that tied it 22-22 and eventually 24-24, as UNCG took the final two points.
Set 4 (26-24) | A five-point run on the serve of Tori Penrod broke an 11-11 tie and forced two UNCG timeouts mid-way through the final set, proving to be enough to propel the Bears to a quality lead. James, MacGilvary and Paige Alsten all recorded kills during the stretch.
However, UNCG resiliently snuck back into the set with eight of nine points to tie it at 23-23 before Mercer finished it off with block assists by Paige Alsten and Heather Swann on an attack by the Spartans' Jessica Brezwyn.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
A day after Morgan MacGilvary surpassed the 300-kill mark for the second consecutive season, the junior led Mercer with a season-high 21 kills. MacGilvary has totaled 40 kills on a .381 hitting percentage in two matches against the Spartans' defense – which entered the match ranked No. 7 nationally in averaging 17.96 digs per set – this season. She saved her best for last with seven kills on 13 attacks in the fourth set to help Mercer clinch the victory.
NOTABLES
- Mercer is 4-7 in road matches and matched its most SoCon victories (6) since joining the conference.
- Mercer has totaled 16 aces, including four by Krogman in two matches against the Spartans this season.
- With the regular season sweep of UNCG in the books, the Bears have now swept three SoCon teams this year. They had never swept more than one conference foe prior to this fall.
- Another win for Mercer in the all-time series against UNCG cuts the Spartans lead to 5-3.
- Saturday featured a head-to-head matchup of the SoCon's top statistical liberos in Mercer's Tori Penrod and UNCG's Christina Gregory. Penrod outmatched Gregory with 25 to 21 in digs as they both continue to be the only conference players averaging more than five digs per set.
- Claire Waliczek leads Mercer with nine double-doubles after posting 24 assists and 12 digs against UNCG. Two other Bears – Ellie James (10 kills, 17 digs) and Emily Krogman (11 kills, 14 digs) – notched their second and third double-doubles, respectively.
- It didn't take long for Paige Alsten to regain her place among the SoCon's leaders in hitting percentage and blocks. The sophomore ranks first in hitting percentage (.347) and blocks per set (1.31).
- Three Bears have reached the 200-dig mark for the season in the past two days: Ellie James and Claire Waliczek notched 17 and 12, respectively, on Saturday to reach the milestone. Emily Krogman surpassed 200 on Friday as well, giving Mercer four players with at least 200 digs.
- With 25 assists Saturday, Hannah Noon reached the 500-assist mark for the season.
RECORD UPDATE
- Mercer: 14-12 (6-8 SoCon)
- UNCG: 15-11 (9-4 SoCon)
UP NEXT
- Mercer: vs. Western Carolina (9-16, 4-8 SoCon) | Macon, Ga. | Friday, Nov. 11 | 2 p.m.
- UNCG: vs. Western Carolina (9-16, 4-8 SoCon) | Greensboro, N.C. | Wednesday, Nov. 9 | 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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