GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) volleyball team defeated the Mercer Bears on Saturday night (25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 25-12) in The Southern Conference (SoCon) action in Greensboro, North Carolina, at Fleming Gymnasium.
With the win, the Spartans improve to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in SoCon. The last time UNCG captured 11 wins in a season was in 2021.
In addition, the Blue & Gold improve to 8-1 at home, marking the best start at home since 2015 as that squad started off 10-1 in Fleming Gym.
Saturday night's win over the Bears marks UNCG's first win over Mercer since claiming both regular season matches in the 2022 campaign.
With tonight's 3-1 win over the Bears and Friday's 3-2 win over The Citadel, UNCG goes 2-0 this week. The last time the Spartans collected two SoCon wins in the same week was in the 2021 season with victories over Western Carolina (Nov. 10, 2021) and The Citadel (Nov. 13, 2021).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 – The Spartans started off the match with a 6-1 lead over the Bears, never allowing the visiting team to lead in the first frame. UNCG closed out the first set with a 4-1 run, ending with an attack error from the Bears to earn set one, 25-20.
Set 2 – The Blue & Gold utilized a .444 hitting percentage in the second frame to only allow Mercer to lead on a couple occasions in the early goings. With the Bears holding a one-point advantage, 4-3, a kill from
Allie Sweet began four-straight Spartan points for a 7-4 advantage. Although the Bears came back to tie the set once more, 16-16, the Spartans kept them from taking the lead again in the frame. A set-point kill from Sweet granted UNCG with game, 25-23.
Set 3 – Mercer founds its stride in set three, capturing an early 10-3 lead over UNCG. The Spartans chipped away to stay within range, but the Bears were able to come away with the third frame, 25-17.
Set 4 – The Spartans picked up their momentum again in the fourth frame, starting out with three unanswered points to keep Mercer from leading again in the match. UNCG closed out the final set with four-straight points featuring an ace from
Gabby Seeds and kills from Sweet and
Robin Rosser to take the match, 25-12.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sweet posted her 14th career double-double and ninth of the season after leading the match with 19 kills and adding 12 digs.
- McKenna Timmerman registered her eighth career double-double and fifth of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs.
- Chloe Nussbaum recorded her second career double-double of the season after leading the match with 25 digs and adding 10 assists.
- Elenoa Sing, Connore' Siler-Nixon and Sweet collected four blocks apiece.
- Seeds led the Spartans as the setter with 27 assists on the day.
RECORDS
UNCG: 11-6, 4-2 SoCon
MERCER: 5-14, 1-5 SoCon
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UP NEXT
The Spartans will face Wofford on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6:00 p.m. in Spartanburg, South Carolina, before returning to Greensboro on Saturday, Oct. 18 to host ETSU at 5:00 p.m. in Fleming Gym.
For the match against the Bucs, the first 60 UNCG students will receive a FREE Crumbl cookie and it will be Homecoming Weekend!
