Paige Alsten has strong weekend for Mercer volleyball team

The Mercer volleyball team traveled to Mississippi to take part in the Ole Miss Classic this past week.

The Bears dropped the first set to Northwestern State before rallying to win 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-15). They had a doubleheader the next day, losing 3-1 to Austin Peay (18-25, 23-25, 25-16, 23-25) and 3-2 to Mississippi (18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 11-25, 11-25). Mercer’s record is 4-4 after the tournament.

Paige Alsten had a strong weekend with a team-high 50 kills, and she now has 122 for the season. Emilee Wissmach collected 58 digs during the tournament and has 106 for the season.

The Bears travel to Charleston, South Carolina, for the Charleston Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Men’s soccer gets first win

The Mercer men’s soccer team earned its first win of the season Sunday with a 2-1 overtime decision at Washington.

The Huskies were ranked 16th in the nation entering the game and dropped to 3-2, while the Bears’ record now stands at 1-3-2. Mercer travels to Georgia Southern on Saturday.

After falling behind in the 17th minute on a penalty kick, Mercer responded quickly as defender Ramario Thompson had a header to even the score at 1. The score remained tied at 1 entering overtime for Mercer’s fifth overtime game in as many games.

Will Bagrou came through in the 91st minute with his 29th career goal, and it came on freshman Leonel Toledo Jr.’s first career assist.

Earlier in the road trip, the Bears lost 2-1 to Seattle. Bagrou had the Bears’ goal on an assist by Kobe Perez.

Strong weekend at home

Mercer’s women’s soccer team won two games this weekend at Bears Field.

The Bears beat Georgia State 1-0 on Friday and Alabama A&M 3-1 on Sunday too improve to 4-4. Mercer travels to Presbyterian on Friday and hosts South Carolina State on Sunday.

In the win over Georgia State, which snapped a four-game losing streak, freshman Ally Fordham had her first career goal on an assist from Valeria Bermeo, her second of the season. The Bears needed every one of keeper Jordyn Eberts’ eight saves to hold on to the 1-0 win.

In the win over Alabama A&M, Fordham tied the score on assists Brie Pavol and Sarah Adcock. Alexius Hill gave the Bears the lead, and then Fordham put it away with another goal.

This story was originally published September 11, 2017 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Paige Alsten has strong weekend for Mercer volleyball team."