Volleyball Skirts Past Samford on Senior Night

Saturday, November 11

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

16-11,12-4SoCon

Samford

14-14,9-7SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Samford	23	25	21	27	12	2
Mercer	25	19	25	25	15	3

Volleyball Skirts Past Samford on Senior Night

11/11/2023 10:23:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MACON – The Mercer volleyball team battled back and forth with Samford on Senior Night to take the win in five sets. The Bears finish the regular season with a 16-11 overall and 12-4 SoCon record, securing second in the conference ahead of the postseason tournament.

The heated match contained 34 ties and 14 lead changes. Only in set three did the Bears maintain the lead throughout, except one tie at 15. Kylee Quigley capped off her career in Hawkins Arena with 17 kills, 13 digs, four blocks and two service aces. Kiera McCarles led the match in both assists (47) and service aces (3), while also adding two blocks.

The Bears are seeded second in the Southern Conference tournament and will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to play seventh-seeded Chattanooga on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. With a win, Mercer will face the winner of No. 3 Wofford and No. 6 Western Carolina in the semifinal.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, Samford 2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 25-27, 15-11)
RECORDS	Mercer 16-11 (12-4 SoCon); Samford 14-14 (9-7 SoCon)
ARENA	Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-23	Samford started the match on a 3-0 run but Mercer caught up to tie the match 4-4 after a service ace from Kiera McCarles and two kills from Gia Padilla. The set remained close until the final point with neither team taking a lead larger than three. Samford called two timeouts, one when Mercer led 22-21 and another at set point, 24-23, but the Bears prevailed when the Bulldogs made back-to-back attack errors.
SET 2 I 19-25	The Bears were the ones starting set two on a run, taking a 7-1 lead before forcing a Samford timeout. Samford went on an 11-4 run out of the timeout to take the lead, 12-11. The downward slide continued as Samford went up 17-13, leading Mercer to call another timeout. Down 18-14, the Bears fought back to within one at 19-18, but the Bulldogs scored six straight to take set two 25-19.
SET 3 I 25-21	Back-to-back kills by Skyler Bumpers got the Bears up 2-0 to start set three, and the team worked up to a 9-3 lead when Samford called a timeout. Tides began to turn, and the match was tied at 15. Three attack errors in a row by Samford's Gracie Lynn Butler helped the Bears reach a five-point lead at 21-16. Only one Samford point separated that run and back-to-back kills by Kylee Quigley. A kill by Skyler Bumpers assisted by Kiera McCarles got the Bears to set point at 24-19. After a lengthy protest from the Samford coach about player rotations, the Bears held on to win 25-21.
SET 4 I 25-27	After starting out down 5-2, the Bears battled back to tie the set at six and took their first lead of the set at 8-7. The Bears and Bulldogs traded points until reaching a two-point lead at 18-16 and carried the momentum to a set-high four-point lead 21-17. The Bears reached set point at 24-19, but the Bulldogs put up one last fight to closing the gap to take a 25-24 lead. A Samford service error tied it up again, but they bounced back to another set point.
SET 5 I 15-11	In another set just as close as those prior to it, the Bears came out with a bit more fire than before with some powerful kills from Kylee Quigley and Aliyah Waldon. Big blocks and a service ace got the Bears to 10 first, leading the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Samford called another timeout at Mercer's match point, 14-11, but the Bears pulled out the win on a Samford service error.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Kylee Quigley (17), Gia Padilla (15), Skyler Bumpers (11), Aliyah Waldon (7), Lillian Beardsley (4)
ASSISTS	Kiera McCarles (47), Abbey Havrilla (4), Gia Padilla (3)
DIGS	Abbey Havrilla (25), Gia Padilla (17), Aliyah Waldon (14), Kylee Quigley (13)
BLOCKS	Skyler Bumpers (4), Kylee Quigley (4), Lillian Beardsley (3), Kiera McCarles (2)
SERVICE ACES	Kiera McCarles (3), Kylee Quigley (2)

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to the Southern Conference Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C., to play Chattanooga on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

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SUPPORT THE BEARS
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