Volleyball Heads to Greenville to Face Furman

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Volleyball travels to Greenville, S.C. to face the Furman Paladins over the weekend at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 17.

Mercer Bears

The Bears (11-8, 5-2 SoCon) are coming off a series sweep over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles to hand them their first two conference losses of the season. Sammi Bergjans led the way with 110 assists (10.0 assists/set), 17 digs, 11 kills, four service aces and two blocks over the three matches last week to earn her second SoCon Setter of the Week honor. She currently ranks 18th in the NCAA in total assists at 679 and leads the SoCon during conference play with 317 total assists (10.93 assists/set). Lara Matta is coming off a strong week in which she totaled 41 kills while adding 28 digs, five blocks, and two assists. On Friday, she led the team in both kills at 13 and digs with 15 to record her sixth double-double of the season.

Furman Paladins

The Paladins (9-9, 3-4 SoCon) started their conference season with two straight losses to Tennessee Tech before sweeping the season series against The Citadel. Last week, the Paladins went 1-2, dropping their first match to The Citadel and splitting the seasons series against Western Carolina. Despite their struggles, Furman has been an efficient team, ranking third in the SoCon in hitting percentage. They've also been a very strong defensive team, ranking second in total blocks at 165 (2.29 blocks/set) and in digs at 1149 (15.96 digs/set). The Paladins have also held opponents to the lowest hitting percentage at .177. Tennyson Gorman has led the way for Furman in efficiency and defense, ranking second in the SoCon with a .336 hitting percentage and first in blocks/set at 1.46.