Mercer Falls To Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian State On Opening Day

Friday, August 29

Charleston, S.C.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

0-1,0-0SoCon

Eastern Kentucky

1-0,0-0ASUN

Mercer

Eastern Ky.

Mercer Falls To Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian State On Opening Day

8/29/2025 1:04:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

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

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Mercer volleyball team showed signs of brilliance in the opening set of each of its matchups with Eastern Kentucky and Appalachian State at the College of Charleston-hosted CofC Classic, but ultimately fell 3-0 to both squads on Friday at TD Arena.

The Bears (0-2) registered 52 kills and seven service aces across the two outings on Friday, but countered with a combined 47 attack errors to neutralize the positives.

The Orange & Black will close out its stay in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday with a lone matchup against the host Cougars. First serve of that contest is slated for 7 p.m.

MATCH SUMMARY (EASTERN KENTUCKY)
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 0, Eastern Kentucky 3 (19-25, 16-25, 17-25)
RECORDS	Mercer 0-1, 0-0 SoCon; Eastern Kentucky 1-0, 0-0 ASUN
ARENA	TD Arena (Charleston, S.C.)

MATCH REPLAY (EASTERN KENTUCKY)
SET 1 I 19-25	The Bears got on the board first after a kill from Joselynn Sanjurjo to give Mercer the energy they needed to open up the set. Both squads exchanged points back and forth including a statement kill from Sydney VanCott to even the score 8-8 but the Colonels were able to pull away, maintaining the lead for the remainder of the set.
SET 2 I 16-25	Mercer attacked early on the Colonels earning a 7-4 lead but Eastern Kentucky was able to rally a few points back from the Bears to take the lead at the 10-9 mark. The Colonels quickly increased their lead off of a few errors from Mercer to pull the set out of reach putting the score 2-0.
SET 3 I 17-25	Eastern Kentucky carried the momentum into the third set, recording 10 of their 24 total kills in the third set alone. The Colonels did not let the Bears come within four points the entire set, securing their first match win of the 2025 season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (EASTERN KENTUCKY)
KILLS	Sophia Henry (7), Lara Matta (5), Destiny Nelson (4)
ASSISTS	Sammi Bergjans (13), Jessica Dunn (4), Abbey Havrilla (2)
DIGS	Sophia Henry (17), Emily Matias (12), Aubri Martin/Abbey Havrilla (10)
BLOCKS	Avery Wilks (2), Sydney VanCott (1)
SERVICE ACES	Avery Wilks (1), Abbey Havrilla (1), Sophia Henry (1)

MATCH SUMMARY (APPALACHIAN STATE)
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 0, Appalachian State 3 (17-25, 16-25, 15-25)
RECORDS	Mercer 0-2, 0-0 SoCon; Appalachian State 1-0, 0-0 SunBelt
ARENA	TD Arena (Charleston, S.C.)

MATCH REPLAY (APPALACHIAN STATE)
SET 1 I 17-25	Mercer posted six kills, four blocks and a trio of service aces in a promising opening set, but Appalachian State hit .235 at the net before eventually pulling away. The squads split the first 24 points of the afternoon, but the Mountaineers tacked up three-straight points after that to take the lead for good.
SET 2 I 16-15	Appalachian State scored nine of the first 10 points in the second set to establish the tone, and then outscored the Bears, 6-3, down the stretch to take a two-set lead in the match. MU trailed 12-3 following a kill from Maya Winterhoff, but used a rally to eventually close to within four points, 16-12, on Sophia Henry's kill.
SET 3 I 15-25	The Bears forged an 8-4 lead following a kill from Lara Matta, but Appalachian State notched 13 of the next 16 points to surge out in front. The Mountaineers closed out the match by scoring eight of the last 12 points as well.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (APPALACHIAN STATE)
KILLS	Charlotte Thompson (12), Sophia Henry (4), Joselynn Sanjurjo (4)
ASSISTS	Sammi Bergjans (23), Aubri Martin (3), Emily Matias-Lopez (1)
DIGS	Aubri Martin (15), EEmily Matias-Lopez (7), Sammi Bergjans (7)
BLOCKS	Destiny Nelson (2), Avery Wilks (2), Joselynn Sanjurjo (1)
SERVICE ACES	Abbey Havrilla (3), Sammi Bergjans (1)

UP NEXT
The Orange & Black will close out its stay in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday with a lone matchup against the host Cougars. First serve of that contest is slated for 7 p.m.

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