Spartans Fall In Thriller At Mercer
11/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Macon, Ga. – In a thrillingly close battle, the match between USC Upstate and Mercer was decided by five points as the Bears claimed a 3-1 victory over the Spartans in A-Sun volleyball action Friday night. Mercer won by scores of 25-19, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-22.
After Mercer won the first set by six points, the final three sets were decided by a combined eight points in a tight match that ultimately went to the home team. Upstate had four players finish the match with double figure kill totals in falling to 10-16 overall and 1-7 in the A-Sun. The Spartans travel to Kennesaw State tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. Mercer improved to 13-16 overall and 5-3 in the league.
Three Spartans finished with double-doubles on the night. Mindy Quimby (Keenesburg, Colo.) led the way with 14 kills and 15 digs. Cori Harris (Champaign, Ill.) added 12 kills and 15 digs, while Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill.) tallied 44 assists and a career-high 25 digs. Morgan Thomas (Plantation, Fla.) and Kelsie Queen (Blythewood, S.C.) each finished with 10 kills.
Neither team could break free in the first set until Mercer put together a small, but effective, run late in the frame. With the score tied at 12-12, the Bears scored four of the next five points to open a small three-point lead. After Upstate cut the lead to 16-14, Mercer scored four of the next five points to open a 20-15 lead. The five-point advantage was enough of a cushion for the Bears to go one for the win in the set.
Upstate rallied from four down early in the second set to post a 25-22 win. Mercer used a 4-0 run to open a 9-5 lead in the frame. However, Upstate fought back to outscore the Bears, 7-3, to tie the set at 12-12. The teams jockeyed for position until Upstate scored four unanswered points to take an 18-14 lead. The Spartans would not relinquish the lead and took the three-point win to even the match at 1-1. Queen posted five kills without an error to lead the Spartans in the set.
Upstate scored the first four points of the third set and opened a 9-5 lead when Mercer fought back to tie the frame at 9-9. The Spartans were able to regain the lead and held a 13-11 advantage. However, the Bears rattled off five unanswered points to open a 16-13 lead. Upstate fought back to tie the set at 20-20. Mercer, though, scored three-straight points to open a 23-20 lead and the advantage was just enough to hold off Upstate for a 25-23 win.
Upstate looked to extend the match to five sets and battled throughout the fourth frame. The Spartans fell behind by three early in the set and couldn't get over the hump the rest of the way. Thought the lead grew to as many as five points, the Spartans were never out of the set. Trailing by five points, 15-10, Upstate continued to battle and got within one, 21-20, late in the set. Mercer scored two-straight points to extend a small three-point lead, but it was just enough for the Bears to squeak out a 25-22 win.
Upstate finished the match with 54 kills. However, 35 errors and an attacking percentage of .097 made the difference. Mercer didn't light it up offensively, hitting at .164 for the match, but was effective enough to secure the close match.
While Upstate had four players post double figure kill totals, Mercer had just one player reach double figures. Krista Hurley led the Bears with 11 kills. Amiee Frutchey and Anna Coursey each totaled nine kills. Frutchey also added 25 digs, while Charlotte Harris totaled 30 digs for the Bears.
