Bears On The Road To Face Western Carolina, Furman

Wednesday, November 6

Cullowhee, N.C.

Noon

Mercer University

Western Carolina

Bears On The Road To Face Western Carolina, Furman

11/5/2024 3:07:00 PM | Volleyball

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

MACON - The Mercer volleyball team hits the road for the final time during the regular season for two midweek matches against Western Carolina and Furman. The Bears have an overall record of 20-4, the most single season wins since the rally scoring era (2001), and a conference record of 10-1 sitting at the number one spot.

The trip will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 6 for a makeup match against Western Carolina at noon. The two squads were originally scheduled to face off on Sept. 27 but was postponed due to damages caused by Hurricane Helene. Most recently, the Bears hosted the Catamounts in Hawkins Arena on Oct. 26 for a Saturday night match. Mercer came out on top with a score of 3-0, recording their second sweep of the weekend. Western Carolina currently sits at the bottom of the conference standings with an overall record of 7-16 and a conference record of 1-9 with their lone win coming against The Citadel on Sept. 25.

The Bears will then travel down to Greenville, S.C. for a battle against the Paladins on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. These two programs faced each other earlier in the season on Oct. 12, resulting in Mercer coming away with a 3-0 sweep in Hawkins Arena. The Paladins rest in the middle of the pack at sixth in the standings with a conference record of 4-6 and an overall record of 10-11.

On the offensive side for the Bears, Skye Ekes has tallied a total of 333 kills throughout 24 matches, averaging 3.66 per set. Brooke Phillips is dominating in multiple categories with 870 assists and 60 service aces, second in the NCAA. For the defensive effort, libero MeMe Davis has 424 digs, averaging 4.66 per set, while Skyler Bumpers leads the way at the net with 70 total blocks on the season.

The match against Western Carolina will be streamed on ESPN+ but Furman will not be, due to scheduling conflicts. Both matches will have live stats available provided by the Western Carolina and Furman athletic departments.