Volleyball Sweeps The Citadel, Advances To SoCon Championship Match

Saturday, November 23

Spartanburg, S.C.

4 p.m.

Mercer University

The Citadel

Volleyball Sweeps The Citadel, Advances To SoCon Championship Match

11/23/2024 6:54:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Kaylin Flukey, kaylin.flukey@live.mercer.edu

MACON - The Mercer volleyball team advances to the Southern Conference Championship game after sweeping the Citadel in the semifinal round of the conference tournament. The Bears picked up their second sweep of the tournament after defeating UNC Greensboro in the quarterfinal round, 3-0.

The Bears hosted a block party this afternoon in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium after turning in nine solo blocks and six block assists as a team. Six of the nine solo blocks belonged to Skyler Bumpers and Gia Padilla who recorded three a piece while Lou Johnson and Skye Ekes made up the remaining three. Skye Ekes led the way for the Bears at the net recording nine kills with Sophia Henry following closely behind registering eight of her own. MeMe Davis held down the back row tallying 24 digs and also adding four service aces. The freshman libero has now posted 57 digs, averaging 9.5 per set across both matches in the conference tournament.

Mercer will face Wofford in the SoCon Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 24 in Spartanburg, S.C. The two squads saw each other twice in the regular season with Mercer coming out on top both times, including a thrilling five-set victory over the Terriers on Nov. 15 to snag the SoCon regular season title. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, The Citadel 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-18)
RECORDS	Mercer 26-5, 16-2 SoCon; The Citadel 15-14, 8-8 SoCon
ARENA	Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-20	Mercer opened up play with two blocks from Gia Padilla to instantly take the momentum away from The Citadel. The Bears continued to feed off of their early energy and maintained the lead throughout the entire set, ultimately winning on back-to-back kills from Padilla.
SET 2 I 25-16	The Bears once again took an early lead at the 3-0 mark after an ace from Brooke Phillips and a kill from Skye Ekes. Mercer's offense came to life, putting up a 10-point lead against The Citadel, setting them up for the set-win after a block from Bumpers combined with errors from the Bulldogs.
SET 3 I 25-18	The Orange & Black took advantage of their 2-0 lead and continued to light up The Citadel's back row. Both Abbey Havrilla and MeMe Davis went on four-point service runs to take the set out of reach from the Bulldogs with Brooke Phillips sending the Bears to the championship game off of an ace, in typical Brooke Phillips fashion.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Skye Ekes (9), Sophia Henry (8), Gia Padilla, Lou Johnson (7)
ASSISTS	Brooke Phillips (30), MeMe Davis (4), Gia Padilla (1)
DIGS	MeMe Davis (24), Brooke Phillips (9), Gia Padilla (7)
BLOCKS	Gia Padilla, Skyler Bumpers (3), Lou Johnson (2), Skye Ekes (1)
SERVICE ACES	MeMe Davis (4), Brooke Phillips (2), Gia Padilla, Skyler Bumpers (1)

UP NEXT
Mercer will face Wofford in the SoCon Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 24 in Spartanburg, S.C. The two squads saw each other twice in the regular season with Mercer coming out on top both times, including a thrilling five-set victory over the Terriers on Nov. 15 to snag the SoCon regular season title. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

STAY CONNECTED
Follow Mercer Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Volleyball on Facebook.

SUPPORT THE BEARS
Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, visit *S upportMAF.com* or email *maf@mercer.edu*.