Volleyball went on a three-game winning streak following a loss to Wofford Oct. 22.
During the Wofford match, the Bears lost 3-1. Wofford took the first set 21-25, but Mercer bounced back to win the second set 25-17. Despite a strong effort in both final sets from Mercer, Wofford came back strong and won the last two sets 24-26 and 22-25.
Rayanne de Oliveria led the team with 13 kills, shortly followed by Jaida Howell with 12, Annie Karle with 11 and Brittany Major with 10.
Meanwhile, Agnieska Paskevic continues leading in assists, having the most at 41. Megan Smith helped the team’s defense with 21 digs while Karle contributed 15.
The Bears came back with a vengeance the next day in their match against the Citadel, taking all three sets with scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 28-26.
Howell led with 12 kills, along with delivering the final kill for the second and third sets. De Oliveria followed her with 10 kills and Karle had 9.
Paskevic contributed 32 assists and 13 digs, while Karle took the lead with 21 digs.
The Bears began to revive their winning streak the following week, taking the win against UNCG 3-1 Oct. 29. While the Spartans took the first set 25-17, the Bears stepped up their game to win the next three 25-20, 25-19 and 25-14.
Karle led with 14 kills, followed by de Oliveria at 12, Howell with 10 and Major at 9. De Oliveira completed 9 blocks, with Howell and Karle tied at 4 and Major at 3.
Paskevic contributed with 44 assists for the Bears and 16 digs. Smith led the team with 22 digs, followed by 20 from Major.
The Bears then went on to face Western Carolina Oct. 30, where they won their third game in a row 3-0. They won the sets 25-21, 25-20 and 25-21.
Karle recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. De Oliveria tied with 11 kills, followed by Howell at 9 and Taylor Lynch at 6.
Paskevic led with 28 assists while Smith led with 16 digs. Major, Karle and Lexi Uhrhan recorded 13, 12 and 10 digs respectively.
The team has a conference record of 10-2 and their overall record is 14-9. While they’ve struggled with the away games, currently at 5-4, they’ve done well with their home games, going 8-1.
Their next game will take place in Hawkins Arena Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. against the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. They’ll then face off again in Hawkins Arena Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. against East Tennessee State University.
