Mercer Drops Second Match Against North Dakota

Saturday, September 5

Grand Forks, N.D.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

2-3,0-0SoCon

North Dakota

2-3,0-0Summit League

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Mercer	25	18	22	20	1
North Dakota	21	25	25	25	3

Mercer Drops Second Match Against North Dakota

9/5/2026 10:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ben Kinealy, kinealy_ben@mercer.edu

Grand Forks, N.D. – Mercer Volleyball split the weekend road trip in North Dakota, dropping their Saturday matchup to the Fighting Hawks in four sets.

The Bears came out firing in the first set and rode the early wave to take a first set victory, but the Fighting Hawks recuperated to win the next three sets and take home the four-set win. Sammi Bergjans had an impressive weekend, recording two 40+ assist performances with two double-doubles, 23 digs, five kills, two service aces, and one block.

MATCH SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Mercer 1, North Dakota 3 (25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 20-25)
RECORDS	Mercer 2-3, 0-0 SoCon; North Dakota 2-3, 0-0 Summit League
ARENA	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center

MATCH REPLAY
SET 1 I 25-21	The Bears came out on fire, winning nine of the first 12 points. The Fighting Hawks stopped the bleeding, and eventually went on a run where they scored seven of eight points to bring the match to within one at 21-20. However, the Bears won four of the next five points to seal a first set victory of 25-21.
SET 2 I 18-25	Mercer and North Dakota went toe to toe to start the second set with the score being even at 11 apiece before the Fighting Hawks went on a three-point run and didn't relinquish the lead for the rest of the set. A late six-point run for North Dakota set up set point and despite Mercer responding with a three-point rally, UND secured the set win at 25-18.
SET 3 I 22-25	North Dakota held onto the momentum from their second set victory to jump out to an 11-5 lead in the third set. After a bit of back-and-forth action, Mercer rallied with a six-point run to tie the set at 13 each but the Fighting Hawks reestablished their lead with a four-point run. Mercer eventually clawed back to within two but North Dakota held on to take a 25-22 set win.
SET 4 \| 20-25	North Dakota capitalized on an early four-point run in the fourth set to take a 9-6 lead before the Bears responded with a four-point rally to take a 10-9 lead. Both sides exchanged points until the score was tied at 17 when North Dakota firmly took control of the set with a six-point run, eventually winning the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
KILLS	Lara Matta (13), Avery Wilks (10), Joselynn Sanjurjo (10)
ASSISTS	Sammi Bergjans (41), Avery Wilks (1), Aubri Martin (1)
DIGS	Sammi Bergjans (13), Lara Matta (11), Sarah Frager (10)
BLOCKS	Joselynn Sanjurjo (4), Avery Wilks (3), Lara Matta (2)
SERVICE ACES	Sarah Frager (2), Sammi Bergjans (2), Lara Matta (2)