Volleyball Wins After a Back-and-Forth Scoring Battle at ETSU

Saturday, November 4

Johnson City, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

14-11,10-4SoCon

East Tennessee State

5-20,5-9SoCon

Mercer

ETSU

Volleyball Wins After a Back-and-Forth Scoring Battle at ETSU

11/4/2023 9:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – The Mercer volleyball team records its second win of the weekend in a closely-played match at ETSU. The Bears remain in second place in the Southern Conference heading into the final week of regular season play.

After losing to Samford in five sets last night, ETSU came ready to fight in tonight's match, never allowing Mercer's leads to hold. Set one contained the largest lead of the match - Mercer's 24-19 lead on the way to winning the set 25-21. From there, each set was taken down to the wire for who would claim the win, with sets two and four requiring extended play. The match contained 39 ties and 20 lead changes.

Kiera McCarles tied her career high in assists (51), and Skyler Bumpers tied her career high in kills (16). Bumpers also recorded a .636 hitting percentage and five total blocks.

The Bears will travel to Chattanooga for their final road match of the regular season on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, ETSU 1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 27-25)
RECORDS	Mercer 14-11 (10-4 SoCon); ETSU 5-20 (5-9 SoCon)
ARENA	Brooks Gymnasium (Johnson City, Tenn.)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-21	Mercer started out the match with a point on a kill by Mykole Morgan, but ETSU fired back with a 3-0 run only to be matched by a Mercer 3-0 run. The Bears reached a three-point lead halfway through the set, but they could not pull away from the Bucs who tied the score again at 16. After gaining a three-point lead and forcing an ETSU timeout at 20-17, the Bears extended their lead to match point at 24-19. ETSU held on for two more points before Mercer won the set 25-21.
SET 2 I 24-26	Mercer began set two with a quick 4-0 run off of back-to-back kills by both Aliyah Waldon and Kylee Quigley. Mercer reached a four-point lead halfway through the set, but ETSU rallied back to tie the score at 13 and again at 18, then taking a two-point lead. The Bears tied it up at 21 and reached set point at 24-22. ETSU scored three straight points to get to their own set point at 24-25, leading Mercer to call a timeout, but ETSU returned to the court with a score.
SET 3 I 25-23	Set three started out with a Mercer 3-0 run, including a service ace by Kiera McCarles. ETSU tied the score three times before Mercer reached a three-point lead at 10-7. From there, the teams alternated points until Mercer reached a 21-19 lead, and ETSU called a timeout. The score was tied again at 23, but the Bears came out on top 25-23.
SET 4 I 27-25	Mercer got up to a three-point lead, but ETSU tied it up at seven. Again, the Bears got a three-point lead at 10-7 to soon be followed by a tie. It was a game of trading points again until Mercer reached an 18-15 lead after a Kylee Quigley ace. ETSU called a time out at 20-16. ETSU rallied to take a 21-22 lead, and Mercer tied it up again at 22. After reaching match point, ETSU came back to reach their own set point at 24-25. Mercer won the match on a block by Kylee Quigley and Skyler Bumpers.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Kylee Quigley (20), Skyler Bumpers (16), Aliyah Waldon (11), Gia Padilla (11), Mykole Morgan (7)
ASSISTS	Kiera McCarles (51)
DIGS	Abbey Havrilla (17), Gia Padilla (13), Kiera McCarles (12), Aliyah Waldon (8)
BLOCKS	Skyler Bumpers (5), Kylee Quigley (3), Aliyah Waldon (2)
SERVICE ACES	Kylee Quigley (2), Aliyah Waldon (2), Kiera McCarles (1), Abbey Havrilla (1), Aria Eisel (1)

UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to Chattanooga for their final road match of the regular season on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.

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