Volleyball Wins Mercer Invite with Victory Over USC Upstate

Saturday, September 17

Macon, Ga.

12 PM

Mercer University

8-4

USC Upstate

6-9

USC Upstate

Mercer

Photo by: Evan Davies

Volleyball Wins Mercer Invite with Victory Over USC Upstate

9/17/2016 2:35:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

MACON, Ga. – Any successful season starts with winning on home turf. Mercer is off to a good start in its 2016 home schedule after defeating USC Upstate 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-21, 25-20) to sweep the Mercer Invite on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Hawkins Arena.

The Bears finished the weekend 3-0, defeating all visiting teams. They are also 8-4 on the season as they head into Southern Conference play next week.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer's red-hot offense was on display early and led to a 25-19 set one win. With 14 kills and only one attack error, the Bears hit .520 in the set as Danielle Faust totaled five individual kills. The Spartans led 13-9 mid-way, but a Mercer rally that included five straight points to take a 21-16 advantage keyed the victory.

USC Upstate took advantage of six Mercer attack errors in the second set to win 25-16 and tie the match 1-1. The Spartans led nearly the entire frame and closed it out with eight of the final 10 points.

Paige Alsten's big performance in the third set helped Mercer hold off the Spartans for a 25-21 victory. The sophomore middle blocker recorded five kills on seven attacks and added a block in the frame. The Bears led the majority of the set, including 13-6 after a six-point run, but USC Upstate kept it interesting with a late rally.

A sluggish start to the fourth evaporated as Mercer scored nine straight points for a 17-14 advantage and the eventual match-clinching 25-20 victory. Alsten went down with an injury in the middle of the set, but Mercer claimed four of the last six points behind kills from Heather Swann, Morgan MacGilvary, Faust and Emily Krogman.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Paige Alsten logged 12 kills and five blocks to pace Mercer on both sides of the net Saturday. Her hitting percentage – .435 on 23 total attacks – was the best among Bears.

NOTABLES

With the 3-0 weekend, the Bears swept the Mercer Invite All-Tournament accolades. Paige Alsten was named MVP; Tori Penrod was named Most Valuable Libero; and Emily Krogman and Morgan MacGilvary were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Mercer improved to 8-4 all-time against the Spartans and snapped a two-match losing streak in the series.
The Bears will enter league play with an 8-4 overall record. One non-conference match remains this season, as Mercer will welcome Savannah State to Macon on Sunday, Oct. 9.
Mercer's five-match win streak is the longest since 2009 when the Bears tallied five in a row from Oct. 24 to Nov. 13.
Mercer hit .520 in the opening set. It's the highest single-set hitting percentage for the Bears this season.
With Hannah Noon serving, Mercer had three separate five-point runs on Saturday. The redshirt-junior added three aces and 29 assists.
Danielle Faust logged 13 kills to tie her career-high – which was set yesterday. She added six digs.
Tori Penrod's 27 digs are the second-most by the senior this season.
Morgan MacGilvary hit over .350 for the fourth time this season en route to a match-high 15 kills.
Bailey Noon recorded double-digit digs (10) for the first time this season.

RECORDS UPDATE

Mercer: 8-4 (0-0 SoCon)
USC Upstate: 6-9 (0-0 ASUN)

UP NEXT
Mercer opens Southern Conference play at The Citadel on Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs are 4-9 overall and have two matches against Savannah State and Charleston Southern before Mercer arrives in Charleston, South Carolina. The Bears went 2-0 against The Citadel last year.

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.