Mercer 3, The Citadel 0
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer volleyball team kept its perfect home record intact with a straight-set victory over The Citadel to open up the home SoCon slate. The Bears are now 4-0 when playing in Hawkins Arena in 2015.
The Bears wasted no time grabbing an early lead on Wednesday evening, winning the opening set in dominant fashion, 25-15. The second stanza was much more highly contested, but the Black and Orange outlasted the Bulldogs by a score of 25-22. Mercer then completed the sweep in the third, taking the final frame 25-18.
Senior Monica Johnson turned in her best performance of the season against The Citadel, posting a team-high 12 kills. Johnson was extremely efficient, recording an attack percentage of .391, the highest of her 2015 season. The 12 kills are the most the Niceville, Fla., native has recorded this year and are the second most in any match during her Mercer career. Johnson was also dominant on the defensive side, notching a season-high four blocks.
The Bear attack was in top form in the SoCon home opener, hammering 42 kills on 90 attempts for an attack percentage of .356, the best team effort for Mercer this season. Eight different players recorded at least one kill and six players finished the evening with hitting percentages over .300. Johnson was the only Mercer member with double-digit kills but Ellie James, Paige Alsten, Morgan MacGilvary and Emily Krogman each tallied at least five kills in the victory.
The victory improves the Bears record to 5-9 on the season and 1-2 in SoCon play. The Citadel drops to 6-12 in 2015 and is now 0-2 in league action
Mercer starts October with two road matches, playing at Chattanooga on Friday at 6 p.m. and at ETSU on Saturday at 6 p.m.
ETSU 3, UNCG 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The ETSU volleyball team earned its second consecutive win Wednesday with a 3-0 victory over UNCG (25-21, 25-14, 25-22). With the win, the Bucs improve their record to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Briana Allmon led the Bucs with 16 kills on 30 attempts with a single attack error for a .500 hitting percentage. The .500 hitting percentage ties the highest mark by an ETSU player this season. Senior Khadijah Wiley hit .500 as well in a 3-1 victory over The Citadel last Saturday.
The Buccaneers scored the first point of the opening frame with a kill from Allmon and they never looked back as they never trailed en route to a 25-21 set victory. Allmon paced ETSU with five kills to go along with four digs in the set.
The Bucs defense totaled 19 digs and four blocks in the frame to increase their lead 2-0 with a 25-14 victory. Freshman Hailey Aguilar led ETSU’s defensive effort in the second with six digs, while Rylee Milhorn and Allmon chipped in four digs a piece.
The Spartans jumped on the Buccaneers out of the break getting out to a 15-9 lead, but after a timeout by head coach Lindsey Devine, the team took off scoring 16 of the next 23 points to finish off the match, 25-22. ETSU’s comeback in the third was collective effort as five different players notched a point during the run and three notched at least two, including freshman AJ Lux, who scored the last two points on kills.
The Bucs will return to action Saturday when they host Mercer. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Furman 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Behind seven third-set aces, Furman volleyball downed Western Carolina, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-21), on Wednesday night in Cullowhee, N.C. The win moves Furman to 9-4 on the season and 3-0 in the SoCon, while the loss drops Western Carolina to 7-12, 1-2 in the SoCon.
Christen Sikora and Taina Joseph each led Furman with 10 kills, while Annie Bierman recorded a team-high 14 digs. Jo Wilks dished out 39 assists and recorded a team-high four aces. Furman hit .271 for the match, while the Paladins held the Catamounts to a .068 hitting percentage.
Furman opened up an early 6-2 lead in set one, but Western Carolina used back-to-back kills to cut the lead to two, but Furman used back-to-back kills of its own to stretch the lead back out at 8-4. The teams traded runs, but Furman ended the set on a 4-1 run to win it 25-17 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Paladins again opened an early lead, this time at 8-4. Furman continued to control the momentum, using an 8-1 run to open up a 16-5 lead over the Catamounts. Western Carolina battled back to cut the lead to eight at 17-8, but Furman continued to add to its lead, opening up a 23-12 lead and forcing Western Carolina to call its final timeout of the set. Out of the timeout, Furman used back-to-back kills by Christen Sikora and Amelia Bohlander to take the set, 25-12, for a 2-0 match lead.
Furman continued to push the momentum, doubling-up Western Carolina early at 10-5, then again at 12-6, forcing the Catamounts to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, it was Western Carolina who used a 6-2 run to cut the lead to two at 14-12. The Paladins pushed the lead back to four at 17-13, but the Catamounts used three-straight points to cut the lead to one at 17-16. The teams then traded points until back-to-back aces by Jo Wilks gave Furman a 23-19 lead and forced Western Carolina to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Western Carolina cut the lead to three at 24-21, but a Western Carolina error gave Furman the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.
Furman is back in action on Friday night, traveling to Charleston, South Carolina., for a 6 p.m. match-up with The Citadel.