Mercer Splits Opening Day Matches at Jax State Invitational

Friday, August 24

Jacksonville, AL

12:30 PM

Mercer University

1-0

Lamar

0-1

Lamar

Mercer

Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen

Mercer Splits Opening Day Matches at Jax State Invitational

8/24/2018 3:01:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Match 1 Box Score (PDF)Match 2 Box Score (PDF)

Bears defeated Lamar in four sets in season opener

By: Mary Bess Skinner

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Mercer split a pair of matches on the opening day of the 2018 season with a win against Lamar and a loss to Little Rock on Friday at the Jax State Invitational.

The Bears (1-1) defeated Lamar, 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 17-25, 27-25), behind an early two-set advantage and a thrilling fourth-set finish to clinch a victory in their season opener. Mercer's first loss of the season came later in the day when Little Rock completed a three-set sweep (18-25, 15-25, 12-25).

HOW IT HAPPENED (Lamar)
Set 1 (25-18) | Danielle Faust recorded Mercer's first kill of the 2018 season to jump start the Bears' opening-set victory. The Bears extended their lead to six points early in the set before the Cardinals rallied for a short-lived advantage. Mercer closed out the set on a 10-1 run, led by Brittany Major.

Set 2 (25-22) | Mercer took a commanding two-set advantage in the match with a 25-22 win in the second set. After the Cardinals opened the set with three straight points, Mercer later regained focus following a timeout. A kill by Roberta Todd put Mercer ahead, 16-15. The Bears did not surrender their lead the rest of the set, closing it out with a Lamar ball handling error.

Set 3 (17-25) | Lamar forced a fourth set with a 25-17 win over the Bears in the third frame. Despite Mercer owning the advantage throughout the early stages of the set, Lamar rallied back to take an 11-10 lead. Kills by Maddie Nunley and Todd pulled Mercer within two points, but a late run by the Cardinals sealed the set.

Set 4 (27-25) | Mercer rebounded from an early 10-3 deficit to the Cardinals en route to clinching the match victory. An 8-1 run by the Bears – keyed by kills from Alexia Morey, Todd and Major –helped them regain the lead at 15-14. Two ball handling errors by the Cardinals in the final two points led to the Mercer victory. Two kills apiece for Major and Faust late in the set helped power the Bears.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Little Rock)
Set 1 (18-25) | Mercer utilized an attack error by Little Rock to tie the first set at 6-6, but fell behind the rest of the way. A kill by Todd, followed by a service ace by Kacy Ogden pulled Mercer within six points late in the set.

Set 2 (15-25) | Two kills apiece by Paige Alsten and Todd kept Mercer close early in the second set before a dominant 12-2 run by the Trojans gave them a two-set advantage.

Set 3 (12-25) | Despite a kill by Todd to open the third set, Little Rock set the tone quickly with a 13-3 lead. Mercer tallied nine points the rest of the way, including two kills by Major and one kill apiece by Faust and Maddie Nunley.

NOTABLES

Roberta Todd tallied 16 kills and nine digs in her first two matches as a Bear. She led Mercer with 10 kills in the win over Lamar.
Freshman Brittany Major recorded nine and six kills in the two matches. Major and Paige Alsten both tallied 15 total kills on the day.
Alexia Morey led Mercer with seven total blocks, including four against Little Rock.
Sophomore setter Maddie Nunley led Mercer with a game-high 26 assists and tallied four kills on five attacks against Lamar. She followed it up with a 20-assist performance against Little Rock.
Emilee Wissmach led the defense with 11 digs in both matches.
Five newcomers made their Mercer debuts on Friday.

RECORD UPDATE

Mercer: 1-1
Lamar: 0-1
Little Rock: 2-0

UP NEXT
Mercer faces North Alabama at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday in its third match of the Jax State Invitational. The Bears then conclude their tournament trip against host Jacksonville State at 8 p.m. (ET).

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.