Mercer Starts Season With Two Wins

Friday, August 27

Macon, Ga.

11:00 AM

Mercer University

1-0,0-0SoCon

Stetson

0-1,0-0ASUN

Stetson

Mercer

8/27/2021 11:33:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Bears defeat both Stetson and New Hampshire in first day of Bears Classic

By: Nicole Dennis

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears volleyball team started season off strong, winning both matches in today's double header against Stetson and New Hampshire. The Bears defeated the Hatters, 3-0 and the Wildcats, 3-1.

Head coach Dex Schroeder was pleased with the 2-0 start from the Bears saying, "I'm very happy with day one. I felt like we have a lot of execution things that we can do better but you cannot doubt the heart of a warrior and my girls played like warriors today".

MERCER VS. STETSON
Set One (25-19) | Mercer started the set slowly, trailing the Hatters, 4-0. The Bears quickly gained momentum led by Rayanne de Oliveira with eight kills throughout the match. Taylor Lynch, Annie Karle, and Paige Wagers all tied with three kills total for set one. The Bears completed the match with a 6-1 run, and the contest ended with an attack error by Kaylee Oscarson and block by de Oliveira.

Set Two (25-22) | De Oliveira, Lynch, and Karle continued to deliver for the Bears during the second set. On the defensive end, Megan Smith led the way with 14 digs. The Bears went on three different runs of three, five, and two to end the set with final scores from De Oliveira and Karle.

Set Three (26-24) | The final set started with several errors from both teams. Lynch and Karle recorded four additional kills in the set. Karle assisted defensively as well with a total of 15 digs in the matchup. Smith would end with 22, allowing the Bears to sweep the Hatters, 3-0.

MERCER VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE
Set One (25-21) | Lynch dominated the court in the first set, recording 9 kills in just 13 attempts. Her hitting percentage of .692 led the way as the Bears hit an impressive .333 in the first set. Karle remained strong on the defensive end with 12.digs.

Set Two (22-25) | Lynch lead the bears offensively with six kills in the set. However, Mercer would fall to the Wildcats in a close battle with seven of the last six points going to the Wildcats due to errors.

Set Three (25-22) | Both teams traded points before an eight-point run from the Bears. Karle recorded three kills during the run with defensive help from Smith totaling 17 digs in the first three sets. Mykole Morgan and De Oliveira closed the set with a kill from the freshman and a service ace from the senior.

Set Four (26-24) | The Bears totaled five aces in the fourth set from Karle, De Oliveira (2), Smith, and Lexi Uhrhan. Mercer played well defensively with blocking assists from Brittany Major, Wagers, Karle, De Oliveira (2), and Lynch. De Oliveira closed the game by completing a service ace.

NOTABLES

Four Bears were in double-digit kills today. Lynch led with 30, followed by Karle (19), de Oliveira (16), and Major (12).
Wagers recorded 9 kills and four block assists; Emma Jose recorded 12 digs and 27 assists, and Morgan recorded one kill in their Mercer debut.
De Oliveira led the Black and Orange in block assists with five, followed by Karle and Wagers who tied with four.

The Bears will compete at home again tomorrow during the final day of the classic, taking on Murray State at 2:00pm.

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.