MACON, GA. – The Citadel dropped a conference match in straight sets against the Mercer Bears (17-25, 22-25, 16-25) on Saturday night inside Hawkins Arena.
 
Rachel Reininger led the Bulldogs with a match-high 12 kills, followed by Gwen Berry with eight and Luci Lippelgoos with seven. Greta Pleuss distributed a match-high 23 assists.
 
Lippelgoos recorded three total blocks, bringing her season total to 43.0.
 
Sophia Henry led the Bears with ten kills.
 
Set 1
A service error from The Citadel and a kill from Reininger gave the Bulldogs an early lead at 5-4 in the first set. The Bears responded with a 5-0 scoring run to take a 9-5 lead over The Citadel. Mercer's lead grew to eight points, but the Bulldogs narrowed the gap to 20-15 on an attack error from the Bears. Mercer finished the first set on a 3-0 run, winning 25-17.
 
Set 2
The Citadel took an early 5-3 lead with two quick kills from Reininger. Consecutive kills from Mercer increased their lead to four points at 12-8. The Citadel narrowed the gap to one point with a 4-0 rally, thanks to kills from Sam Barnes and Berry at 14-13. The Citadel took the lead with a kill, a service ace from Reininger, and another kill from Lippelgoos to make it 20-19. Mercer regained the lead at 21-20 and managed to hold on, ending the second set at 25-22.
 
Set 3
Mercer jumped to an early five-point lead at 7-2 to open the third set. Mercer's lead expanded to as much as 11 points on a 3-0 scoring run, making it 16-7. A kill by the Bears ended the set and the match at 25-16.
 
Up Next
The Citadel will stay on the road for two conference matches at ETSU on Oct. 9 at 6 pm and at UNCG on Oct. 10 at 6 pm.