Mercer Volleyball Travels to West Georgia for UWG Volleyball Classic

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Volleyball wraps up their nonconference road schedule at the UWG Volleyball Classic on Sept. 11-12 in Carrollton, Ga.

Mercer's weekend outlook

Friday, Sept. 11 — 11:00 a.m. ET: Mercer vs. New Orleans
Saturday, Sept. 12 — 10:00 a.m. ET: Mercer vs. Gardner Webb
Saturday, Sept. 12 — 4:00 p.m. ET: Mercer vs. West Georgia

Mercer Bears

The Bears split their matchups against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks last weekend, winning the first match on Friday after dropping the first set and rallying to win the next three consecutively for a four-set victory. Sammi Bergjans had a strong effort across both matches, totaling 84 assists and 23 digs for her second and third double-doubles of the season. She also added two service aces to increase her team-leading total to eight. Lara Matta also turned in back-to-back double-double performances with 25 kills and a team-leading 30 digs on the weekend. She currently ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set at 3.63 and 11th with 3.26 digs per set.

New Orleans Privateers

The Privateers (1-5) opened their season with a 3-0 sweep over Alcorn State but have dropped their past five matches. New Orleans has been led offensively by freshman right-side hitter Armie Hall, who leads the team with 74 total kills on the season, and she is tied for the team lead in blocks with 12. Freshman Mia Lopez has led the team on the back row, totaling a team-best 83 digs (3.77 digs/set) while adding 20 assists and two service aces for the season. The Privateers were picked to finish tenth in the Southland Conference preseason poll.

Gardner Webb Runnin' Bulldogs

The Runnin' Bulldogs (4-3) have had an up-and-down start to their season, going 1-2 at the Lehigh tournament before winning their next three matches while dropping their last match to Western Carolina in four sets. Peyton Slone has led the team offensively this season with 76 kills (3.45 kills/set) and a .301 hitting percentage while adding five blocks. Sarina Galyean has also been a strong two-way threat for the Runnin' Bulldogs, totaling 70 kills (2.80 kills/set) with a .384 hitting percentage while leading the team with 15 blocks. Gardner Webb was picked to finish seventh in the Big South's preseason poll.

West Georgia Wolves

The Wolves (1-5) swept Northwestern State in their opening tournament, but lost their next five matches, including two five-set contests. West Georgia is led by Brooke McCall, who leads the team with 77 kills (3.5 kills/set) while adding 19 digs and five blocks. Giorgia Mandotti has held down the back row, leading the team with 83 digs (3.61 digs/set) with five service aces and 20 assists. West Georgia was picked to finish ninth in the United Atlantic Conference with no athletes earning preseason awards.