Volleyball Dominates Early, Then Holds Off Furman In Five Sets

Friday, November 3

Greenville, S.C.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

13-11,9-4SoCon

Furman

16-8,7-6SoCon

Mercer

Furman

Volleyball Dominates Early, Then Holds Off Furman In Five Sets

11/3/2023 10:16:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Mercer volleyball team used a dominant effort early on to stake claim to a 2-0 advantage, but were forced to hold off a determined Furman squad in five sets on Friday evening inside Alley Gymnasium.

The second meeting of the Bears and Paladins was a tougher fight than the first in a match filled with ties, lead changes and the largest lead being six points. The first two sets were strong wins by Mercer, and both ended on a service ace - the first by Gia Padilla and the second by Abbey Havrilla.

Set three contained several long rallies and big saves from both sides, but the Paladins had the momentum to take a 6-point win in set three. In set four, the largest lead was three, and the set was tied at 22 before Furman finished it out to tie up the match.

The Bears had to rally from four points down at the media timeout, but they fought to the finish and took the set and the match after Kylee Quigley recorded her 22nd kill of the night - a new career high.

The Bears will travel to Johnson City to play ETSU on Saturday at 6 p.m.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, Furman 2 (25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 15-13)
RECORDS	Mercer 13-11 (9-4 SoCon); Furman 16-8 (7-6 SoCon)
ARENA	Alley Gymnasium (Greenville, S.C.)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-22	The two teams started the set out close, but the Bears fell to 6-12 before calling at timeout. From there, they worked back up to within one to two points until taking a lead at 17-16. Kylee Quigley recorded an ace, and Gia Padilla recorded a kill to force the Paladins to a timeout. After the set was tied at 20-20, the Bears went on a 5-0 run to finish the set. Gia Padilla recorded a kill, served four times, the last being the set point, an ace.
SET 2 I 25-19	Kylee Quigley recorded her second kill of the match and the team's third early in set two. Neither team took a lead greater than two until Mercer took a three point lead at 19-16. Furman scored the next point, but the Bears extended the lead to 22-17. Set two ended like set one with an ace, this time by Abbey Havrilla who returned to play tonight after missing recent matches due to injury.
SET 3 I 19-25	Ali Waldon got the Bears on the board quickly to start set three. The Bears took a quick 3-0 lead on three straight kills, but the Paladins caught back up and took an 8-11 lead. A kill and ace by Gia Padilla brought the Bears within one, but the Paladins kept their momentum. An ace by Carley Raleigh brought the Bears within one at 17-18, but the Paladins took a 17-21 lead shortly after, forcing a Mercer timeout. Furman scored four points to Mercer's two following the timeout to take the match to a fourth set.
SET 4 I 22-25	Set four started no different than the previous three with back-and-forth scoring. After being down one point at the media timeout, Mercer scored back-to-back to take a one-point lead. Gia Padilla recorded her ninth kill of the night to give Mercer a three-point lead and force a Furman timeout. The play reversed with three straight points by Furman and a timeout by Mercer. After falling again to 22-24, Mercer used its final timeout of the set but could not keep Furman from winning the set.
SET 5 I 15-13	The Paladins came out with the momentum they built after winning the previous two sets, taking a 2-6 lead at the media timeout. A kill by Kylee Quigley then Skyler Bumpers and ace by Kylee Quigley made the score 5-6. After falling to 9-11 and calling a timeout, Mercer fired back and took a 12-11 lead, causing Furman to use their final timout. Mercer made it to match point at 14-11, but Furman held on for two more points until Kylee Quigley put down a strong kill to win the match 15-13.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Kylee Quigley (22), Skyler Bumpers (10), Gia Padilla (10)
ASSISTS	Kiera McCarles (41), Abbey Havrilla (6), Gia Padilla (4)
DIGS	Abbey Havrilla (22), Kylee Quigley (19), Aliyah Waldon (17), Gia Padilla (16)
BLOCKS	Skyler Bumpers (4), Mykole Morgan (4), Aliyah Waldon (3), Kiera McCarles (3)
SERVICE ACES	Kylee Quigley (3), Gia Padilla (3), Kiera McCarles (1), Abbey Havrilla (1), Carley Raleigh (1)

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Johnson City to play ETSU on Saturday at 6 p.m.

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