Mercer Bounces Back with 3-0 Sweep of FIU

Saturday, September 10

Jacksonville, Fla.

9 AM

Mercer University

4-4

Florida International

3-5

Mercer

FIU

Photo by: Evan Davies

9/10/2016 10:59:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A little more than 12 hours after suffering a straight-sets loss, the Mercer volleyball team found themselves on the winning side of a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-19, 25-20) against Florida International on Saturday morning at the UNF Arena. The Bears improved to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the Best Western Osprey Invite with the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A collective effort in the opening set got the Bears off to a strong start Saturday morning, as four different players recorded at least three kills in the set. Leading 13-11, Mercer pulled away from the Panthers with four of the next five points for a 17-12 lead. The Bears then closed the set out with seven of the final 10 points, highlighted by a service ace from Emily Krogman and a finishing kill by Heather Swann.
By the time Mercer claimed a comfortable 2-0 lead with a 25-19 set two victory, Paige Alsten had established her dominance at the net. The sophomore middle blocker totaled five kills and a pair of blocks in the second set to pace Mercer. FIU kept the second set close as Mercer led 19-18 late, but the Bears pulled away six of the final seven points
Mercer put an end to the sweep in the third set behind five total aces from Krogman, Morgan MacGilvary and Bailey Noon. The Panthers made a late rally to close the gap, but Heather Swann's finishing kill wrapped up a 25-20 set win and 3-0 match victory.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Mercer owned the battle at the net, largely due to the stellar play of Paige Alsten. The middle blocker finished the match with 10 kills (.500 hitting percentage) and six blocks, both team-high marks. It's the second time Alsten has recorded double-digit kills this season and the third time she's finished with at least six blocks.

NOTABLES

Mercer's win snapped FIU's two-match win streak in their all-time series. The Panthers still lead the series though, 7-5.
Mercer hit a season-high .308 as a team, recording 38 kills and posted a season-low 10 attack errors.
The Bears recorded a season-high 11 aces against FIU. Five different players had at least one ace, including five by Krogman.
Krogman's five-ace performance is the second time she's reached that total this season.
Bailey Noon's first two points of the season came in quality fashion as she hit back-to-back aces in the third set.
Danielle Faust earned her first start of the season and had an immediate impact for the Bears. The sophomore totaled three kills – all in the opening set – while tacking on five digs.
Four Bears had at least seven kills, including MacGilvary (seven), Swann (nine) and Krogman (seven).
Tori Penrod's 12 digs were a season-low, but she pushed her total to 157 through eight matches.

RECORDS UPDATE
The 3-0 win pushed Mercer (4-4) back to the .500 mark through eight matches played this season. Florida International's two-match win streak was snapped, dropping the Panthers to 3-5.

UP NEXT
The Orange and Black jump back into play at 1 p.m. Saturday against Nicholls State (4-6), losers of two straight in the tournament. It will be Mercer's final match of the Best Western Osprey Invite before returning home to Macon.

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.