Mercer Volleyball Pulls Off Big Comeback to Defeat Alabama State

Saturday, August 29

Troy, Ala.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

Alabama State

Mercer Volleyball Pulls Off Big Comeback to Defeat Alabama State

8/29/2026 5:00:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Ben Kinealy, Kinealy_ben@mercer.edu

Troy, Ala. – Mercer Volleyball came back from an eight-point deficit while down 2-1 in sets to down the Alabama State Hornets in five sets on Saturday.

The Bears (1-1) dropped the first and the third set to go down 2-1 against Alabama State and were down 13-5 halfway through the fourth set before rallying back, winning 20 of the next 29 points to force a fifth set. The Hornets held the advantage through the majority of the fifth set, but a Mikayla Miessler kill and Joselynn Sanjurjo block gave the Bears the advantage for Lara Matta to seal the match with a kill.

The Orange and Black will wrap up their weekend at the Troy Invitational tomorrow at noon ET against the North Alabama Lions.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 3, Alabama State 2 (22-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22, 16-14)
RECORDS	Mercer 1-1, 0-0 SoCon; Alabama State 0-2, 0-0 SWAC
ARENA	Troy, Ala. (Trojan Arena)

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 22-25	The Bears held a 20-17 lead late in the first set after a back-and-forth start to the match, but Alabama State took control of the set, winning nine of the final 11 points to take a 25-22 first set win over Mercer.
SET 2 I 25-16	Mercer learned from the mistakes of their first set, jumping out ahead early and riding a five-point run in the middle of the second set to take a seven-point lead. Alabama State tried to force their way back into the set, but the Bears shut the door by earning the final three points to take set two, 25-16.
SET 3 I 21-25	Alabama State's sense of urgency kicked in at the beginning of the third set, winning six of the first eight points. The Hornets held a 14-7 point lead over the Bears when Mercer first showcased their never say die attitude, tying the game at 21 apiece. However, Alabama State took a needed timeout and swiftly shut the door, winning the final four points to go up 2-1 over the Bears.
SET 4 \| 25-22	Alabama State's momentum carried over into the fourth set, as they took a monstrous 13-5 advantage, but the Bears fought back again, tying the game at 20 and eventually winning the final three points with Sammi Bergjans' two service aces sending the match to a fifth set.
SET 5 \| 16-14	Neither team won more than two consecutive points and neither team won back-to-back points after the game was tied at 9-9 until the Bears won the final three to take the match. Both sides fought hard, but the Bears rode the late wave to win their first match of the season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Lara Matta (25), Joselynn Sanjurjo (12), Brooklyn Palmer (12)
ASSISTS	Sammi Bergjans (44), Aubri Martin (11), Joselynn Sanjurjo/Brooklyn Palmer (2)
DIGS	Aubri Martin (17), Lara Matta (13), Sammi Bergjans/Sarah Frager (12)
BLOCKS	Avery Wilks (5), Sammi Bergjans (4), Joselynn Sanjurjo (3)
SERVICE ACES	Sammi Bergjans (5), Lara Matta, Aubri Martin, Brooke Kaoui, Sarah Frager (1)