Saturday, August 25
Jacksonville, AL
12:30 PM
Mercer University
2-1
3
vs
2
North Alabama
0-3
1
2
3
4
5
F
North Alabama
25
28
12
19
15
2
Mercer
21
26
25
25
17
3
Team Stats
MER
JSU
Kills
47
43
Errors
23
17
Attempts
120
103
Hitting %
.200
.252
Points
54.0
60.0
Assists
44
43
Aces
4
8
Blocks
3.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S/OPP
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen
Five-Set Win Highlights Bears’ Split at Jax State Invitational
8/25/2018 4:33:00 PM | Volleyball
Mercer defeats North Alabama, falls to host Jacksonville State
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Mercer rallied from a two-set deficit and defeated North Alabama, 3-2 (21-25, 26-28, 25-12, 25-19, 17-15), to highlight the Bears' two matches Saturday at the Jax State Invitational.
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Mercer (2-2) later fell to tournament host, Jacksonville State, 3-1 (17-25, 18-25, 25-22, 18-25), despite a third-set victory. The Bears split their two matches on both Friday and Saturday of the season-opening weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED (North Alabama)
Set 1 (21-25) |Â A back-and-forth opening set that featured 12 lead changes was eventually claimed by North Alabama after a pair of errors by Mercer and an ace earned the Lions the final three points. Five straight points, including kills by Paige Alsten, Alexia Morey and Brittany Major, gave Mercer an 11-8 lead before the two teams duked it out the rest of the way.
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Set 2 (26-28) |Â Mercer jumped out to a 5-1 lead with kills from Roberta Todd and Major before North Alabama rallied to force another back-and-forth set. The two squads were tied as late as 24-24. Kills by Danielle Faust, with assists from Molly Hackett and Emilee Wissmach, gave Mercer a 25-24 and 26-25 lead before the Lions reeled off the final three points.
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Set 3 (25-12) |Â Mercer's three-set rally started with a dominant third set. Despite a 4-1 lead for North Alabama, Mercer was sparked by a service ace from Olivia Sass that gave the Bears a 6-5 advantage. A four-point run, keyed by an ace from Wissmach, extended Mercer's lead to 12-8. Mercer closed out the set on a 9-1 run that included kills from Alsten, Todd and Alexia Morey.
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Set 4 (25-19) |Â After finishing off the third set with a kill, Morey sparked the fourth frame with an opening kill. Mercer held an early lead for the first nine points before North Alabama tied it up at 5-5. Consecutive kills by Morey and Todd regained Mercer's lead at 11-10. The Bears won seven of the last nine points behind two kills from Alsten, both assisted by Hackett.
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Set 5 (17-15) |Â Mercer capped its three-set rally with a 17-15 win over the Lions. With North Alabama leading, 8-4, Mercer started its fifth-set comeback with a kill from Morey and two straight aces by Todd to tie the frame at 9-9. With Mercer on the brink of defeat, Faust came through with a set-tying kill, assisted by Wissmach, to make it 14-14. An ace by Megan Smith in the following point gave Mercer the lead before two Lions attack errors clinched the win for the Bears.
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HOW IT HAPPENED (Jacksonville State)
Set 1 (17-25) |Â Mercer fell into an early deficit, 11-4, and was never able to pull within four points late in the set despite multiple kills by Alsten (four), Major (three) and Faust (two).
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Set 2 (18-25) |Â Another strong offensive set by Jacksonville put Mercer in a two-set hole. The Bears led, 2-1, and tied the frame at 5-5 on an ace by Olivia Sass, but were unable to pull out a set win despite a late 6-3 run.
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Set 3 (25-22) |Â Mercer tallied a .323 attack percentage with 16 kills in the third set, resulting in its lone win of the match. Mercer traded blows with the Gamecocks twice before taking the lead for the remainder of the set, keyed by an offensive push from Brittany Major and Paige Alsten.
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Set 4 (22-25) |Â Jacksonville State was quick to pull ahead, 11-4, before Alexia Morey notched a kill to spark a four-point run by Mercer. The Gamecocks maintained their lead, however, en route to the match win. Todd generated two consecutive kills to pull Mercer within five points before Jacksonville State finished off the match with a pair of points.
NOTABLES
RECORD UPDATE
UP NEXT
Mercer will travel to Morehead, Ky. for the Morehead State Tournament. The Bears will face Wright State (1 p.m.) and host Morehead State (7 p.m.) on Saturday. Mercer will end its trip to Kentucky against Saint Francis at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
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.
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Mercer (2-2) later fell to tournament host, Jacksonville State, 3-1 (17-25, 18-25, 25-22, 18-25), despite a third-set victory. The Bears split their two matches on both Friday and Saturday of the season-opening weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED (North Alabama)
Set 1 (21-25) |Â A back-and-forth opening set that featured 12 lead changes was eventually claimed by North Alabama after a pair of errors by Mercer and an ace earned the Lions the final three points. Five straight points, including kills by Paige Alsten, Alexia Morey and Brittany Major, gave Mercer an 11-8 lead before the two teams duked it out the rest of the way.
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Set 2 (26-28) |Â Mercer jumped out to a 5-1 lead with kills from Roberta Todd and Major before North Alabama rallied to force another back-and-forth set. The two squads were tied as late as 24-24. Kills by Danielle Faust, with assists from Molly Hackett and Emilee Wissmach, gave Mercer a 25-24 and 26-25 lead before the Lions reeled off the final three points.
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Set 3 (25-12) |Â Mercer's three-set rally started with a dominant third set. Despite a 4-1 lead for North Alabama, Mercer was sparked by a service ace from Olivia Sass that gave the Bears a 6-5 advantage. A four-point run, keyed by an ace from Wissmach, extended Mercer's lead to 12-8. Mercer closed out the set on a 9-1 run that included kills from Alsten, Todd and Alexia Morey.
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Set 4 (25-19) |Â After finishing off the third set with a kill, Morey sparked the fourth frame with an opening kill. Mercer held an early lead for the first nine points before North Alabama tied it up at 5-5. Consecutive kills by Morey and Todd regained Mercer's lead at 11-10. The Bears won seven of the last nine points behind two kills from Alsten, both assisted by Hackett.
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Set 5 (17-15) |Â Mercer capped its three-set rally with a 17-15 win over the Lions. With North Alabama leading, 8-4, Mercer started its fifth-set comeback with a kill from Morey and two straight aces by Todd to tie the frame at 9-9. With Mercer on the brink of defeat, Faust came through with a set-tying kill, assisted by Wissmach, to make it 14-14. An ace by Megan Smith in the following point gave Mercer the lead before two Lions attack errors clinched the win for the Bears.
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HOW IT HAPPENED (Jacksonville State)
Set 1 (17-25) |Â Mercer fell into an early deficit, 11-4, and was never able to pull within four points late in the set despite multiple kills by Alsten (four), Major (three) and Faust (two).
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Set 2 (18-25) |Â Another strong offensive set by Jacksonville put Mercer in a two-set hole. The Bears led, 2-1, and tied the frame at 5-5 on an ace by Olivia Sass, but were unable to pull out a set win despite a late 6-3 run.
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Set 3 (25-22) |Â Mercer tallied a .323 attack percentage with 16 kills in the third set, resulting in its lone win of the match. Mercer traded blows with the Gamecocks twice before taking the lead for the remainder of the set, keyed by an offensive push from Brittany Major and Paige Alsten.
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Set 4 (22-25) |Â Jacksonville State was quick to pull ahead, 11-4, before Alexia Morey notched a kill to spark a four-point run by Mercer. The Gamecocks maintained their lead, however, en route to the match win. Todd generated two consecutive kills to pull Mercer within five points before Jacksonville State finished off the match with a pair of points.
NOTABLES
- Molly Hackett recorded a double-double in her first career start with a game-high 42 assists and 12 digs. The freshman then split time with Maddie Nunley against Jacksonville State; the duo combined for 44 assists.
- Roberta Todd tallied 25 total kills and 16 digs in two matches Saturday. The sophomore added three aces on the day. Todd leads Mercer in kills (41) and aces (5) this season.
- Paige Alsten connected for a game-high 13 kills against Jacksonville State.
- Alsten, Alexia Morey and Hackett combined for 20 total blocks against North Alabama: Alsten (seven), Hackett (seven) and Morey (six).
- Four Bears – Wissmach (18), Faust (15), Smith (13) and Hackett (12) – tallied double-digit digs against the Lions. Wissmach fell shy one dig (9) in the second match of the day.
- Olivia Sass and Hackett tallied three aces apiece against North Alabama. Sass added another ace for the day against the Gamecocks.
RECORD UPDATE
- Mercer:Â 2-2
- North Alabama: 1-2
- Jacksonville State: 4-0
UP NEXT
Mercer will travel to Morehead, Ky. for the Morehead State Tournament. The Bears will face Wright State (1 p.m.) and host Morehead State (7 p.m.) on Saturday. Mercer will end its trip to Kentucky against Saint Francis at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
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.
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