Volleyball Goes 1-1 on Day One of Tiger Invitational

Friday, September 8

Auburn, Ala.

10 a.m.

Mercer University

3-4,0-0SoCon

Charleston Southern

5-4,0-0Big South

Mercer

Charleston So.

Volleyball Goes 1-1 on Day One of Tiger Invitational

9/8/2023 12:46:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MACON – The Bears came out in dominating fashion on Friday, sweeping Charleston Southern 3-0. In the afternoon, the Orange and Blue traded points and set wins for over two hours through five sets. Middle Tennessee came away with the win after the battle for the final two-point lead continued until the score was 23-21.

Jessica Dunn posted a whopping 40 assists in the two games to lead the team for the day, while Skyler Bumpers led the defensive side of the ball with 8.5 blocks. The afternoon match is the Bears' first since the first game of the season against Saint Louis to go to five sets.

The next game will be Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET against No. 25 and host team Auburn and will be streamed on SEC Network+.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, Charleston Southern 0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-21)
RECORDS	Mercer 3-4; Charleston Southern 5-4
ARENA	Neville Arena (Auburn, Ala.) -- Tiger Invitational

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-17	The Bears posted five service aces in set one to gain quick points throughout the set, taking an early lead on the Buccaneers.
SET 2 I 25-19	Mercer trailed early in the set but recorded five blocks in set two to work their way to tie the game at 7-7 then secure the lead from there to the end of the match.
SET 3 I 25-21	The closest set of the match, set three was also the set Mercer had their best hitting percentage (.375). There were multiple lead changes as the set progressed, until Mercer tied the score at 18 and kept the lead until the end of the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Kylee Quigley (9), Gia Padilla (8), Skyler Bumpers (7)
ASSISTS	Kiera McCarles (18), Jessica Dunn (16), Abbey Havrilla (2)
DIGS	Abbey Havrilla (12), Kylee Quigley (10), Gia Padilla (8)
BLOCKS	Aliyah Waldon (2.0), Skyler Bumpers (2.0), Mykole Morgan (2.0)
SERVICE ACES	Kylee Quigley (3), Kiera McCarles (3), Abbey Havrilla (1), Gia Padilla (1)

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 2, MTSU 3 (21-25, 25-19, 13-25, 25-17, 23-21)
RECORDS	Mercer 3-5; MTSU 2-3
ARENA	Neville Arena (Auburn, Ala.) -- Tiger Invitational

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 21-25	Middle Tennessee led almost every stat category for set one but had three more service errors than Mercer. The Bears trailed by as much as seven four times during the set but fought back to make the gap three points before MTSU took the set on a kill.
SET 2 I 25-19	The Bears bounced back in set two, over doubling their hitting percentage from set one (.269) and recording seven blocks. The score remained close until at a lead of 20-18, Mercer outscored MTSU 5-1 to close out the set.
SET 3 I 13-25	The Blue Raiders played a dominant third set, boasting a .486 hitting percentage and registering 20 kills to Mercer's seven. Mercer held a one-point lead and a tie early on, but MTSU broke away and maintained.
SET 4 I 25-17	Mercer held MTSU to a .057 hitting percentage while posting their own of .320 along with out-blocking the Blue 5-1. The Bears got on the board first and held the lead through the entire set.
SET 5 I 23-21	Set five was a fight to the finish, as the set stats were as close as the set score. The Bears led the first third of the set, then the teams started trading points with neither leading by more than one until the final score of 23-21, well past the necessary 15.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Kylee Quigley (12), Mykole Morgan (10), Aliyah Waldon (9)
ASSISTS	Jessica Dunn (24), Kiera McCarles (19), Abbey Havrilla (4)
DIGS	Abbey Havrilla (21), Katilyn Steffes (16), Kylee Quigley (8)
BLOCKS	Skyler Bumpers (6.5), Lillian Beardsley (3.0), Katilyn Steffes (2.5)
SERVICE ACES	Abbey Havrilla (2), Katilyn Steffes (1)

UP NEXT
The Bears will finish play in the Tiger Invitational tomorrow, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. CT/ 8 p.m. ET facing the host team, No. 25 Auburn, before the first home match of the season on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. vs. Georgia Southern.

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