Volleyball Reverse Sweeps Furman, Climbs Into Tie for First Place in SoCon Standings

Saturday, October 17

Greenville, S.C.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

13-8,7-2SoCon

Furman

9-11,3-6SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Mercer	17	20	25	25	15	3
Furman	25	25	18	20	13	2

Lara Matta Attack, Furman Saturday Recap

Volleyball Reverse Sweeps Furman, Climbs Into Tie for First Place in SoCon Standings

10/17/2026 6:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ben Kinealy, Kinealy_ben@mercer.edu

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer Volleyball completed the reverse sweep over the Furman Paladins on Saturday to climb into a tie for first place in the Southern Conference with Wofford.

The Bears couldn't get anything going in the first two sets, but three runs of four points or more in the third set turned the tides of the match, as Mercer controlled the majority of the third and fourth sets. The Paladins regained control in the fifth set, taking the first three points, but Mercer went on a late rally, taking nine of the final 11 points in the fifth set to complete the reverse sweep.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, Furman 2 (17-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-13)
RECORDS	Mercer 13-8, 7-2 SoCon; Furman 9-11, 3-6 SoCon
ARENA	Timmons Arena (Greenville, S.C.)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 17-25	The Bears started the match by taking a 3-1 lead, but Furman responded immediately by going on a seven-point run to make the score 8-3. They immediately added another four straight points to make it 12-5 and maintained control for the remainder of the set to take the first set 25-17.
SET 2 I 20-25	The Paladins took control early in the second set, but a three-point run by the Bears tied the set at six apiece. Both teams went back-and-forth with the set tied at nine before the Paladins went on a three-point run to make the score 12-9. Furman held a slight edge for the remainder of the set and solidified their lead with a four-point run to make it 23-17. The Bears tried to build some momentum, but it was quickly ended, as Furman took the second set 25-20.
SET 3 I 25-18	The Paladins looked to make it a quick match, jumping out to a 7-4 lead in the third set, but Mercer responded with a seven-point rally to take an 11-7 lead. The Paladins fought back to take a 16-15 lead, but the Bears quickly regained their lead with a four points in a row. Mercer followed that up later in the set with five straight points to win the third set 25-18.
SET 4 \| 25-20	The Bears and Paladins exchanged points early in the fourth set before Mercer went on a four-point run to take a 9-5 lead. After Furman scored the next two points, Mercer went on an eight-point runs to go up 17-7. The Paladins wouldn't go away, as they brought the set to within four points, but Mercer shut the door, winning the set 25-20 on a Lara Matta kill.
SET 5 \| 15-13	Furman earned the first three points of the match and went on another three-point run later in the set to take an 11-6 lead over the Bears. Mercer refused to go away, taking the next four points to bring the set to within one and later went on a three-point run to take a 13-12 lead. The Paladins tied the final set at 13, but Sammi Bergjans and Taylor Timko strung together a pair of kills to give the Bears a 15-13 set win and a reverse sweep over the Paladins.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Lara Matta (20), Taylor Timko (12), Joselynn Sanjurjo (8)
ASSISTS	Sammi Bergjans (43), Aubri Martin (9), Sarah Frager (1)
DIGS	Sammi Bergjans (18), Aubri Martin (15), Sarah Frager (10)
BLOCKS	Bella Pons (5), Sammi Bergjans (2), Joselynn Sanjurjo (1)
SERVICE ACES	Aubri Martin (7), Brooklyn Palmer (3), Sarah Frager (2)