The Citadel Edged by Mercer in SoCon Matchup

Saturday, September 26

Macon, Ga. / Hawkins Arena

2:00 PM

The Citadel

3-11,0-2SoCon

Mercer

8-6,2-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	Final F
The Citadel	15	25	22	0
Mercer	25	27	25	3

Box Score.PDF

Photo by: Mercer University Athletics

The Citadel Edged by Mercer in SoCon Matchup

9/26/2026 4:27:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: The Citadel Athletics

MACON, Ga. — The Citadel (3-11, 0-2 SoCon) fell to Mercer (8-6, 2-0 SoCon) 3-0 (15-25, 25-27, 22-25) on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.

Jordyn Sims led the Bulldogs with 12 kills while hitting .278. Greta Pleuss finished with 32 assists and added a service ace. Jess Martin recorded a team-high 18 digs, one kill and one service ace, while Luci Lippelgoos added nine kills, six digs and an ace.

For Mercer, Sammi Bergjans finished with 39 assists, 10 digs and three service aces. Lara Matta led the Bears with 11 kills and added eight digs. Brooklyn Palmer recorded 10 kills, 13 digs and two aces, while Aubri Martin collected a team-high 15 digs.

First Set | 15-25
·       The teams traded points to a 3-3 tie before the Bears won four straight to take a 7-3 lead. Lippelgoos and Cameron Reese answered with kills to pull the Bulldogs within 7-5.
·       Mercer responded with another four-point run to extend its lead to 11-5, but an Elizabeth Miller kill and Pleuss ace helped The Citadel cut the deficit to 12-8.
·       The Bears won six of the next seven points to build an 18-9 advantage before adding a four-point run to make it 22-10.
·       With Mercer leading 24-12, Lippelgoos recorded a kill and service ace during a three-point Bulldogs run before the Bears closed out the set, 25-15.

Second Set | 25-27
·       After the Bulldogs tied the set at 11-11 on a Sims kill, Mercer scored five straight points, including two Bergjans aces, to take a 16-11 lead.
·       The Bulldogs responded by winning seven of the next eight rallies. Sims recorded three kills during the stretch, and Emerson Hill served an ace to give The Citadel an 18-17 advantage.
·       Gwen Berry's ace later extended the lead to 20-18, but Mercer tied the set at 20-20 and eventually moved ahead 24-22 following a Bulldogs attack error.
·       Berry's kill tied the set at 24-24, and a Mercer service error evened it again at 25-25. Matta followed with a kill before a Bulldogs attack error gave the Bears the set, 27-25.

Third Set | 22-25
·       After a 2-2 tie, the Bulldogs scored six straight points, with the final five coming with Martin at the service line, to take an 8-2 lead.
·       Mercer worked its way back into the set and tied the score at 11-11 before taking a 13-12 advantage. A Reese kill and two Mercer attack errors put the Bulldogs back in front, 15-13.
·       The Citadel later held a 19-17 lead behind kills from Berry, Sims and Lippelgoos and a Martin ace, but Mercer tied the set at 19-19 before an Emily Matias ace gave the Bears a 20-19 advantage.
·       Sims tied the set at 20-20 with a kill, but Mercer scored three straight points to take a 23-20 lead. Reese and Sims answered with kills to pull the Bulldogs within 23-22 before the Bears claimed the final two points for a 25-22 victory.

Up Next
The Bulldogs return home to host Tennessee Tech on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. inside McAlister Field House for the conference home opener.