Mercer Defends Turf with Sweep of Florida A&M

Tuesday, September 4

Macon, Ga.

6 PM

Mercer University

4-4

Florida A&M

0-7

Florida A&M

Mercer

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

Mercer Defends Turf with Sweep of Florida A&M

9/4/2018 11:26:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears open home slate at Hawkins Arena with 3-0 win

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – After seven road matches to open the season, Mercer looked right at home Tuesday night with a 3-0 sweep of Florida A&M (25-22, 25-23, 25-11) at Hawkins Arena.

The Bears (4-4) improved to .500 overall with the win on their home court and dropped Florida A&M to 0-7. Behind a match-high 17 kills by Paige Alsten and Roberta Todd, Mercer hit a season-best .302 for the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (25-22) | After an attack error by Todd gave Florida A&M a 6-3 lead to start the first set, Mercer steadily rallied back to tie it up, 9-9, with kills by Brittany Major (2), Alexia Morey (2), Paige Alsten and Todd. Mercer later won 11 of 14 points to take a six-point lead (20-14). The run was keyed by five assists from Maddie Nunley and four kills by Alsten. A late spurt by the Rattlers pulled them within one point (23-22), but Todd registered a kill to close the opening set.

Set 2 (25-23) | With Mercer trailing 17-13 late in the set, Nunley set up Todd for a kill that sparked a pivotal stretch for the Bears. Mercer claimed 10 of the following 10 points and took a 23-20 advantage behind kills from Todd, Morey and Major as well as two service aces. The Bears' offense flowed through the middle for its final two points, using kills by Alsten to take a two-set lead.

Set 3 (25-11) | Mercer rolled to its sweep with a dominant third set, wasting no time by pulling ahead by as many as eight points early (13-5). Service aces by Emilee Wissmach and Olivia Sass, along with a solo block by Alsten, powered the early run. The set then turned into the Todd show, as the transfer tallied kills in four straight points as Mercer stretched its least to 18-6. Kills by Alsten and Todd earned Mercer the final three points of the set to wrap up the match.

NOTABLES
» Paige Alsten and Roberta Todd recorded season-highs of 17 kills apiece. Alsten did it in efficient fashion, hitting .500 for the match.
» Maddie Nunley recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 12 digs. Both figures were season-bests.
» Mercer tallied five service aces, marking the fourth time this season the Bears have had five or more.
» Danielle Faust added a team-best 14 digs.
» Three Bears hit at least .368 individually: Alsten (.500), Alexia Morey (.438) and Brittany Major (.368).

RECORD UPDATE
» Mercer: 4-4
» Florida A&M: 0-7

UP NEXT
Hawkins Arena will be the site of the Mercer Bears Classic this weekend. Mercer will host Alabama A&M, UT Martin and Jacksonville on Sept. 7-8 for a total of six matches. The Bears face Alabama A&M (11 a.m.) and UT Martin (6 p.m.) on Friday and Jacksonville (1 p.m.) on Saturday.

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.