Bulldogs Drop SoCon Opener at Mercer

Friday, September 25

Macon, Ga. / Hawkins Arena

6:00 PM

The Citadel

3-10,0-1SoCon

Mercer

7-6,1-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	Final F
The Citadel	18	21	20	0
Mercer	25	25	25	3

Box Score.PDF

Photo by: Mercer University Athletics

Bulldogs Drop SoCon Opener at Mercer

9/25/2026 8:04:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: The Citadel Athletics

MACON, Ga. — The Citadel fell to Mercer 3-0 (18-25, 21-25, 20-25) on Friday night to open SoCon conference play at Hawkins Arena.

Greta Pleuss finished with 32 assists, 10 digs, four block assists and a service ace. Gwen Berry collected 15 digs and added an ace. Luci Lippelgoos posted nine kills while hitting .316 to go along with two block assists and a service ace. Cameron Reese added nine kills, five digs and a solo block.

Bella Pons led Mercer with 11 kills on a .526 hitting percentage and added three block assists. Sammi Bergjans recorded 32 assists, eight digs and five block assists. Aubri Martin collected 18 digs and added a service ace, while Joselynn Sanjurjo finished with eight kills on a .438 hitting percentage and three block assists.

"Mercer played a lot cleaner than we did tonight. We matched them in just about every statistical category, but the difference was our unforced hitting errors," said head coach Dave Zelenock. "We have to clean those up tomorrow and come out playing a more mature, disciplined game."

First Set | 18-25
·       Mercer scored the first three points before The Citadel answered with three straight, tying the set at 3-3 on a Reese kill from Pleuss.
·       The Bulldogs pulled even again at 8-8 behind an Emma Pastusic kill and a Lippelgoos service ace, but the Bears responded with five consecutive points to take a 13-8 lead.
·       Mercer extended its advantage to 20-11 before the Bulldogs received late kills from Lippelgoos, Reese and Rachel Reininger.
·       Reininger's second late kill cut the deficit to 23-18, but Mercer scored the final two points to take the opening set.

Second Set | 21-25
·       The teams were tied at 6-6 after early kills from Reininger, Reese, Jordyn Sims and Lippelgoos before Mercer used a 6-1 run to take a 12-7 lead.
·       The Bulldogs responded with three straight points on an Elizabeth Miller kill, a Mercer attack error and a Reininger kill to cut the deficit to 12-10.
·       The Citadel tied the set at 14-14 behind a Berry service ace and a Lippelgoos kill.
·       After Mercer regained a 16-14 advantage, Reese put down consecutive kills and Emerson Hill added an ace to give the Bulldogs a 17-16 lead.
·       The teams traded points to 19-19 before Mercer pulled back in front. Miller's late kill cut the deficit to 23-21, but the Bears scored the final two points to take the set.

Third Set | 20-25
·       The Bulldogs built an early 4-2 lead behind two Lippelgoos kills and a Reese block, but Mercer won seven of the next eight points to move ahead 9-5.
·       Trailing 10-7, The Citadel responded with six unanswered points behind a Pleuss ace, kills from Sims, Reininger and Miller, and two blocks to take a 13-10 lead.
·       Mercer answered to tie the set at 14-14 before the teams battled to ties at 17-17 and 18-18.
·       The Bears then scored four consecutive points to build a 22-18 advantage before closing out the match with a 25-20 third-set victory.

Up Next
The Bulldogs return to Hawkins Arena on Saturday, Sept. 26, for another SoCon matchup against Mercer. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.