GREENSBORO, N.C. – Mercer entered Friday night's Southern Conference volleyball match having won four in a row, including a victory over then league leader Samford, but the UNCG volleyball team would have none of it. The Spartans swept the Bears in straight sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) to kick off Senior Weekend inside Fleming Gymnasium.

UNCG (17-10, 9-5 SoCon) won its eighth contest in its last 11 tries while denying Mercer (10-17, 5-8) a chance to move up the standings with the conference tournament looming in a couple of weeks. The Blue and Gold also improved to 8-3 at home and 13-1 when winning the first set.

A few of the statistical categories actually slightly favored the visiting Bears as Mercer out-hit (.257-.237) and out-dug (52-47) the Spartans, but UNCG won the blocking battle (7.0-6.0) and recorded more service aces (6-3). The teams were even in kills (43 apiece) while the Blue and Gold committed one more attacking error (15-14).

Senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney had a very solid match, tallying a team-best 12 kills on 22 attempts with just two errors to hit .455. Additionally, sophomore setter Sara Hohman turned in her 15^th double-double of the season with 36 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, junior libero Katherine Santiago led the way with 12 digs. Molly Locke paced Mercer with 13 kills and 11 digs while Tori Penrod, along with Ellie James, picked up a match-high 16 digs.

The teams battled through a couple of ties and lead changes in the early going, but the Bears put together a 3-0 run with the score tied at six to force a UNCG timeout. The Spartans called another timeout when a kill by Cara Tripp put Mercer ahead 13-7. However, UNCG recovered and used a kill by redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur to spark a 7-2 run that drew the Spartans within 15-14. The Bears netted three of the next four points to push in front 18-15, but UNCG knotted the score at 19 after an attacking error by James.

With the Spartans trailing 22-21 later in the set, Sidney took over and notched three-straight kills to put the Blue and Gold at set point 24-22. A kill by Locke briefly extended the frame, but senior middle hitter Vicky Harley put a kill down to end it in UNCG's favor.

The Spartans raced out to a 7-3 lead in the second stanza, forcing an early Mercer timeout. UNCG did not let up as an attacking error by James put the Spartan advantage at 12-5 and prompted the Bears to burn their final timeout of the frame. A service ace by sophomore defensive specialist Mackenzie Moughon made the score 16-9 and UNCG looked well on its way. Mercer settled down from there, however, scoring nine of the next 14 points to pull within 21-18. An ace by James made things interesting as the Bears drew within 23-22, but a kill by sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn and an attacking error by Emily Krogman allowed the Blue and Gold to clinch the set 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

The teams traded points for much of the early third set and finally settled for a 9-9 deadlock. UNCG seized the momentum as a kill by Brezwyn sparked a 5-1 run that made the score 14-10 in the Spartans' favor. Mercer used a timeout but could not stop the momentum. A block by Harley and freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench stretched the cushion to 20-13. The Bears could not close the gap in the end as the home team took the third set by a 25-22 margin and completed the sweep.

UNCG wraps up its regular season home schedule Saturday at 5 p.m. The Spartans will honor their three seniors before the match.

Follow the UNCG volleyball team all season by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official Twitter accounts @UNCGVB and @uncgsports.