Volleyball Defeats Towson in Five-Set Thriller

Friday, September 16

Macon, Ga.

7 PM

Mercer University

7-4

Towson

10-2

Towson

Mercer

Photo by: David Scearce

Volleyball Defeats Towson in Five-Set Thriller

9/16/2016 11:36:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

MACON, Ga. – In front of a packed house at Hawkins Arena on Friday night, the Mercer volleyball team found itself with the chance to earn a marquee win in its non-conference schedule. The Bears lived up to the occasion, defeating visiting Towson 3-2 (25-20, 17-25, 25-17, 9-25, 15-13) in a five-set thriller for their second win in the Mercer Invite.

The Orange and Black (7-4) have won four straight matches and handed Towson (10-2) just its second loss of the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer's 25-20 opening set victory was keyed by a late run after trailing 17-16. The Bears tallied off seven straight points – highlighted by two aces and a kill from Morgan MacGilvary – to take a 23-17 lead. From there Mercer held on to take the set & establish the tone for the match.

A quick start in the second set gave Towson an early 9-3 lead and the Tigers never looked back, fending off Mercer for the eventual 25-17 win. Mercer hit .259 for the set with 12 kills, but couldn't claw their way back into it.

Mercer scorched through the third set by hitting .390 to win 25-17. Three straight kills by Danielle Faust opened the set up before the play of Heather Swann, Morgan MacGilvary and Emily Krogman pushed the Bears to a pivotal 2-1 advantage.

However, the back-and-forth progression continued as Towson made it interesting by forcing a fifth set with a dominant performance in the fourth, winning 25-9. The Bears failed to find rhythm in the set, giving way to 16 kills by Towson as they hit .452.

Four Bears totaled kills in the final frame, led by Krogman and Faust who notched four apiece. Tied at 11-11 and then 12-12, Faust and Paige Alsten came up with timely kills to help Mercer finish off the Tigers, 15-13.

KEY TO THE WIN
Towson entered the Mercer Invite as the nation's No. 1 team in opposing hitting percentage (0.074). The Bears weren't fazed as they hit .275 for the match to continue as recent streak of outstanding offense.

COACH ELDER'S TAKE
On the victory against Towson:
"Towson is a really, really good matchup for us. They took it to us in a couple of sets and I'm proud of the team for managing that and being able to come back to earn a win in front of our home crowd."

On the atmosphere at Hawkins Arena for the Towson win:
"It was amazing. I'm humbled by our Mercer fans – we led up to this win alongside them and I just feel like it was an incredible place to be tonight. I want to thank everyone for coming out."

LIBERO TORI PENROD'S TAKE
On the team's mindset after the Towson win:
"We're feeling really positive – we had a couple downs in a couple of our matches, but our word has been confidence. These were two great wins for us today and the home crowd as awesome."

On Mercer's four-match win streak:
"We've just focused on our confidence and putting that on the court lately. We've spent time working on our offense and it was great to see that come through today."

NOTABLES

Mercer owns a 2-0 advantage all-time against Towson.
Friday night's win was only Mercer's second five-set match of the year. The Bears are 1-1 in such contests.
Emily Krogman posted her second double-double of the season with 12 kills and 11 digs.
With 10 kills and five blocks, Paige Alsten was tough to miss Friday night. She continued to increase hit season hitting percentage (.403) as she hit .556 against Towson's defense.
Tori Penrod's 20 digs pushed her past the 200-mark through 11 matches. She's averaging 4.98 per set.
As her minutes have increased, Danielle Faust continues to meet expectations. The sophomore totaled nine kills Friday night including ones at some key moments.
Gabbi Meyering made the most of her playing time, going a perfect 2-for-2 in attacks and added four blocks to tie Heather Swann for second among Bears.
Hannah Noon led the way with 25 assists while Claire Waliczek added 23.

RECORDS UPDATE

Mercer: 7-4 (0-0 SoCon)
Towson 10-2 (0-0 CAA)

UP NEXT
The Bears look to continue their recent strong play as they close out the Mercer Invite against USC Upstate at noon on Saturday, Sept. 17. The Spartans (6-8) went 1-1 Friday, falling to Towson 3-2 before defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 3-1.

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.