Mercer Defeats Nicholls State with Second Straight Sweep

Saturday, September 10

Jacksonville, Fla.

1 PM

Mercer University

Nicholls State

4-7

Nicholls State

Mercer

Photo by: Evan Davies

Mercer Defeats Nicholls State with Second Straight Sweep

9/10/2016 4:01:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Another standout offensive display propelled the Mercer volleyball team to its second straight sweep on Saturday, a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-20) victory over Nicholls State at the UNF Arena. The Bears finished 2-1 at the Best Western Osprey Invite.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer's efficient play during Saturday morning's match continued into a tightly-played opening set against Nicholls State. The Bears won 25-22, led by four aces, a pair of which were by Morgan MacGilvary. The Bears also received nine combined kills from Emily Krogman and Paige Alsten in the set while Hannah Noon reached double-digit assists early.

A five-point rally keyed a 25-23 win in the second set and gave Mercer the 2-0 lead in the match. Trailing 15-13, the Bears tallied five straight points on kills by Danielle Faust and MacGilvary while Claire Waliczek capped the run with an ace for a 17-15 lead. From there, MacGilvary and Krogman took over to total five points on four kills and an ace and close out the set.

After falling behind 10-5 in the third set, the Bears clawed their way back for the eventual sixth-straight set win of the day at 25-20. Tied 15-15, Mercer won five of the next six points behind kills from Paige Alsten and MacGilvary while Tori Penrod added one of her three aces. The Bears eventually shut the door on Nicholls State with a pair of aces from MacGilvary and Hannah Noon.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
MacGilvary reached double-digit kills (14) for the fifth time this season while posting a season-high four aces to lead Mercer offensively. The junior was efficient as her 14 kills came on 31 attempts while recording only three attack errors for a .355 hitting percentage.

COACH ELDER'S TAKE
"I would have liked to compete a little harder against North Florida on Friday night, but overall I'm really happy with our results this weekend," said head coach Damian Elder. "Defeating Florida International and Nicholls State 3-0 after they both beat us a season ago feels great.

"We're looking forward to playing in front of our Mercer fans next weekend."

NOTABLES

Tori Penrod and Emily Krogman were named to the Best Western Osprey Invite All-Tournament Team following the Bears' win over Nicholls State. Penrod totaled 42 digs and four aces while Krogman posted 27 kills, 15 digs, six aces and three blocks over the three matches.
Saturday's victory was Mercer's first against Nicholls State since 2006 in the all-time series. The Colonels still lead the series 3-2.
Mercer's impressive play in the service game was present again Saturday afternoon. Hours after recording a season-high 11 aces against Florida International, the Bears topped it with 12 against Nicholls State.
Likewise, after posting a season-high .308 hitting percentage Saturday morning, Mercer bested it with a .317 figure against the Colonels.
The win over Nicholls State was the fourth time multiple Bears have recorded double-digit kills in a single match this season. MacGilvary led the way with 14 while Krogman added 12.
Claire Waliczek and Tori Penrod led Mercer with 11 digs apiece. It's the first time this season Penrod hasn't solely led the Bears in the category.
Hannah Noon and Waliczek totaled 39 assists for the match.
Danielle Faust earned her second start of the day and season against Nicholls State and made the most of it. She totaled a career-high four kills on 13 total attacks.
Paige Alsten submitted a quiet box score with six kills and one block, but recorded a hitting percentage (.385) above .300 for the sixth time in nine matches this season.
Gabbi Meyering led Mercer with four blocks. It's the third time she's posted four in a match this season.

RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer owns a 5-4 overall record – the first time the Bears have been above .500 this season – following the sweep of Nicholls State. The Colonels dropped to 4-7 and are losers of three straight following the Best Western Osprey Invite.

UP NEXT
After three straight weekends of tournament play away from home to open the season for the Orange and Black, they will host the Mercer Invite at Hawkins Arena next weekend.

Mercer will open play against Fairleigh Dickinson at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16 followed by the nightcap match against Towson at 7 p.m. that night. The Bears will then take on USC Upstate at noon on Saturday, Sept. 17.

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.