Box Score Macon, Ga. – Annie Bierman put down 22 kills, while Christen Sikora added 16 and Furman volleyball downed Mercer, 3-1 (25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 25-22) on Saturday. The win moves Furman to 12-6 on the year at 6-2 in SoCon play, while the loss drops Mercer to 9-12 and 4-5 in SoCon play. The loss also marks the Bears' first home loss of 2015.
Bierman added a team-high 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season, while also hitting .333. Sikora added 14 digs, her third double-double of the season, and tallied three blocks. Carris Campbell notced a team-high five blocks and Jo Wilks dished out 50 assists with 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Furman out-hit Mercer .277 to .201 and put down 62 kills, while limiting the bears to 43.
The teams traded points early in set one until Furman used four-straight points, including back-to-back kills by Jamila Johnson, to take a 10-8 lead. Furman then pushed its lead to three at 12-9 and forced Mercer to call its first timeout. Out of the timeout, Furman used an 8-2 run to open up a nine-point margin at 20-11. The Bears would not go down quietly, however, using an 11-4 run to cut into the Furman lead at 24-22. Furman ended the threat, however, getting a kill from Johnson to take set one, 25-22, for a 1-0 match lead.
After the Bears used a 17-3 run to propel them to a 25-15 set two win and 1-1 match tie, it was Furman that jumped out to a 12-10 lead in set three. The teams then traded points the rest of the set until Furman used a 4-1 run to close out the set and win it 25-22, for a 2-1 match lead.
The Paladins again grabbed an early lead in set four, this time at 11-7, forcing a Mercer timeout. Furman pushed the lead to five at 17-12, but Mercer rallied to cut the lead to one at 17-16 and force Furman to call a timeout of its own. Out of the timeout, the teams traded points until a 3-1 run by the Paladins prompted Mercer to take it's final timeout. The Bears cut the lead to one at 22-21, but Furman finished the match on a 3-1 run, including two kills by Sikora, to take it 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
Furman is back in action on Friday, October 23, as the Paladins play host to Samford in a 6:00 p.m. match in Alley Gym.
