No. 2 ETSU, No. 6 Mercer advance to semifinals

No. 2 ETSU defeats No. 7 UNC Greensboro 3-1

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In the third match of the day, No. 2 seed ETSU defeated No. 7 seed UNC Greensboro 3-1 to advance to the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 4:30 p.m. in Wofford’s Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Bucs will take on the winner of No. 3 Western Carolina and No.6 Mercer who play in the final quarterfinal match on Friday at 7 p.m.

Southern Conference first-team all-conference selection Kaela Massey put the Bucs on the board first. Tied at 5, ETSU scored three in a row before a kill by UNCG’s Maria Esch halted the rally. The teams were tied at 3, 4, and 6 before ETSU began to pull away. The Bucs quickly extended their lead, pushing it to 11-7 before UNCG sided out. An attack error by UNCG’s Emily Keilen put the Bucs in front 13-8 and forced Spartans’ head coach Corey Carlin to use a timeout. Keilen answered with a kill out of the break to stop the rally but ETSU scored the next four to run the score to 17-9 and force another UNCG timeout.

Out of the timeout, an ETSU service error made it 17-10 but ETSU kept the Spartans at bay, and leading 21-13, scored the final four, capped off by a service ace from Freshman of the Year Olivia Cunningham that sealed the 25-13 opening set win.

ETSU began set two with four straight points after a UNCG service error, a service ace by Lauren Hatch and back-to-back kills by Massey and Cunningham. UNCG got on the board with a kill by Esch and quickly tied it at 5 on another Esch kill. Tied at 8, ETSU began to pull away, pushing the lead to 11-8 behind a kill from Lundyn Coffman, Lauren Hatch and a service ace by Marija Popovic. The Bucs’ lead was at least two and as many as five when they pushed the lead to 18-13. A service error by the Bucs pulled the Spartans within three, 19-16, but ETSU won six of the final eight points to win 25-18 and take a 2-0 lead.

It was the Spartans that jumped out early in the third set, rattling off three straight points to open the match. The Bucs made up ground and tied the contest at 6 before continuing on to a 10-7 advantage. The Bucs’ lead stretched to five, 18-13, and UNCG called a timeout to regroup. ETSU held on to the lead, though the Spartans wouldn’t go away. The Bucs had set point, 24-21 after a kill by Coffman. Hannah Knier tallied back-to-back kills to fend off two set points before Lauren Robeck’s service ace knotted the set at 24.

Another kill by Knier gave the Spartans set point for the first time and ETSU called a timeout, which worked, as a kill by Coffman tied it at 25. Knier gave UNCG another set point, 26-25, but Hatch tied it at 26. The teams traded points, tied at 27, 28, and 29 before a kill by Krier and an attack error by ETSU gave UNCG the 31-29 win.

ETSU’s Sara Esposito threw down a kill to start the fourth set. Tied at 5, ETSU began to pull away. A kill by Coffman put ETSU out in front, 6-5, and the Bucs pushed the lead to 9-5 behind the serve of Cunningham. From there, the Bucs won five of the next six to push the lead to 14-6. The Spartans couldn’t get the deficit below six and ETSU went on to win the set 25-16 and the match 3-1.

ETSU placed four in double-digit kills, led by 19 from Hatch. The SoCon all-freshman selection hit .586 with just two errors on 29 swings. Fellow freshman Lundyn Coffman had 13 kills and no errors on 17 swings, good enough for a .765 hitting percentage, third-best in program history. Massey joined the pair in double-figures and earned a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, while first-team all-conference libero Marija Popovic led all players with 26 digs. Esch led UNCG with 19 kills, tying Hatch for the match high, and was joined in double-figures by Knier (11) and Keilen (11). ETSU hit .387 as a team, including .429 in the first set, while UNCG hit .212.

No. 6 Mercer upsets No. 3 Western Carolina in Five Sets

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sixth-seeded Mercer claimed the final spot in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship with a 3-2 win over No. 3 seed Western Carolina on Friday night inside Wofford’s Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Bears will play No.2 ETSU on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 4:30 p.m.

Mercer won the first two sets 25-20 and 31-29, respectively, before Western Carolina rallied back to win the next two, 25-21 and 25-14 to force a decisive fifth set. Mercer scored the first point of the fifth set and never trailed, winning 15-10 to take the 3-2 win.

The Bears began the match with five straight points behind the serve of Nya Steele. The Catamounts chipped away at the lead and pulled within three at 8-5, but Mercer scored seven of the next 10 to take a 15-8 lead and force a Western Carolina timeout. Jaida Howell, a SoCon all-freshman team selection, added a kill out of the timeout and quickly stretched the lead to 23-17. Western Carolina used its second timeout of the set to regroup and scored the next three out of the break, cutting the lead to three, and Mercer head coach Derek Schroeder called a timeout. Back-to-back attack errors by Western Carolina put Mercer ahead 25-20 to finish off the set.

The Bears also came out hot in set two and led 3-0 before a bad set by Mercer’s Roberta Todd put the Catamounts on the scoreboard. Mercer led 9-4 before Western Carolina took a 10-8 lead off a kill by Merry Gebel and four attack errors by the Bears. The match was tied at 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 before Western Carolina went ahead 17-14, 18-15, and 19-16 looking to even the match. Mercer, however, tied it at 20 and 21 but kills by Aleah Keaton and Haley Multerer ran the score to 23-21. Western Carolina had set point at 24-23, but an attack error by MaKenzie White allowed Mercer to stay alive. The teams traded points and were tied five more times down the stretch. Tied at 29, Brittany Major recorded back-to-back kills off passes from Nya Steele and won 31-29 to take a 2-0 lead. In total, there were 14 ties and four lead changes in the set.

Set three was much of the same with 10 ties and six lead changes. Tied at 13, Western Carolina began to take control of the set and scored three in-a-row to lead 16-13. The Catamounts pushed the lead to five at 21-16 and 23-18 before a kill by Abigail Veit capped off the 25-21 win.

The Catamounts took control of the fourth set from the start. Ties at 1-1 and 3-3 were the only two of the set. Western Carolina resumed momentum and cruised to a 25-14 win to knot the match at two sets apiece.

In the fifth set, Mercer jumped out to a 4-0 lead and forced Western Carolina head coach Karen Glover, the 2019 SoCon Coach of the Year, to take an early timeout. Western Carolina scored the next three points to pull within one but Mercer scored the next point on a kill by Annie Karle to push the lead to two. The Bears never trailed in the set and hit .312 to Western Carolina’s 0.34, winning 15-10 to advance to the semifinals for the second straight season.

As a team, Mercer hit .215 to Western Carolina’s .176. Each team hit a higher percentage in the sets they won. Major led Mercer with 19 kills and was joined in double-digit kills by teammate Karle (17) and Alexia Morey (10). Todd (19), Megan Smith (18), Steele (15) and Major (14) tallied double-digit digs.

Veit (12) and Multerer (10) had double-digit kills for Western Carolina and Meagan Sanchez, the 2019 SoCon Libero of the Year, led the Catamounts with 14 digs.

2019 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium ▪ Spartanburg, S.C.

Tuesday, Nov. 19
First Round
Match 1: #8 The Citadel 3, #9 Chattanooga 0 in Charleston, South Carolina (SDN/Roku)

Friday, Nov. 22
Quarterfinals
Match 2: #5 Furman 3, #4 Wofford 1 (SDN/Roku)
Match 3: #1 Samford 3, #8 The Citadel 0 (SDN/Roku)
Match 4: #2 ETSU 3, #7 UNCG 1 (SDN/Roku)
Match 5: #3 Western Carolina vs. #6 Mercer, 7 p.m. (SDN/Roku)

Saturday, Nov. 23
Semifinals
Match 6: #5 Furman vs. #1 Samford, 2 p.m. (SDN/Roku)
Match 7: #2 ETSU vs. #6 Mercer, 4:30 p.m. (SDN/Roku)

Sunday, Nov. 24
Championship
Match 8: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

 

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