Bears Beat Bobcats in Game One of UNF Invitational

Friday, August 30

Jacksonville, Fla.

4 p.m.

Mercer University

1-0,0-0SoCon

Quinnipiac

1-1,0-0MAAC

Quinnipiac

Mercer

Bears Beat Bobcats in Game One of UNF Invitational

8/30/2024 7:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

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

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mercer volleyball team opened its 2024 season with a 4-set win against Quinnipiac on the first day of the UNF Invitational on Friday.

The Bears started the match off strong taking the first set but fell to the Bobcats in a hard-fought second set. Mercer quickly rallied back after a solid performance from the offense to take the next two sets, closing the door on the Bobcats.

Mercer put up an impressive 19 blocks as a team. Senior transfer, Skye Ekes, led the Bears offense with 17 kills and registering a .316 hitting percentage. Freshman MeMe Davis tallied a match-high 16 digs and Brooke Phillips recorded 39 assists.

The Orange & Black will face Rhode Island at 12 p.m. and UNF at 7 p.m. on Saturday to close out its trip to Jacksonville, Fla. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, Quinnipiac 1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16)
RECORDS	Mercer 1-0, 0-0 SoCon; Quinnipiac 1-1, 0-0 MAAC
ARENA	UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-16	The squads halved the majority of the set until the 52nd point mark when Lou Johnson recorded a kill to give the Bears the momentum they needed to take the lead for good. A few Quinnipiac errors combined with kills by Sophia Henry and another one from Johnson, resulted in Mercer taking the first set of the 2024 season.
SET 2 I 23-25	The Bears trailed most of the set, falling behind early after amassing a few hitting and defensive errors. Mercer fought back to tie it at 23-23 by a kill from Brooke Phillips but was not enough to top the Bobcat's explosive offense as they recorded back-to-back kills to end the game.
SET 3 I 25-23	Mercer fell behind in the first few points and stayed behind until three Bears kills in a row from Henry, Ekes and Johnson put Mercer in the lead for the rest of the match. Ekes added three more kills of her own to secure the 25-23 set win for the Bears.
SET 4 I 25-16	Mercer carried the momentum from set three into set four as Ekes led off with an ace. The Bears hit a rough patch following the ace but were able to pick it back up after another kill by Ekes. From then on the Mercer front line was lights out with the support of the solid defense behind them, quickly bringing the set and match to an end.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Skye Ekes (17), Lou Johnson (8), Gia Padilla (7)
ASSISTS	Brooke Phillips (38), MeMe Davis (2), Gia Padilla (1)
DIGS	MeMe Davis (16), Brooke Phillips (9), Gia Padilla (6)
BLOCKS	Skyler Bumpers (5), Lou Johnson (4), Gia Padilla (3)
SERVICE ACES	Brooke Phillips (3), Skye Ekes (3), Gia Padilla (2)

UP NEXT
The Bears will close out their stay in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday when they battle Rhode Island and the host-UNF Ospreys inside the UNF Arena. The first match is scheduled for 12 p.m. with the second one following at 7 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ along with live statistics provided by the UNF athletics department.

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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*.