The Citadel vs Mercer Volleyball: Mercer Wins 3-0 (Sep 26)

FinalSat, Sep 26, 2026

0:3

Mercer beat visiting The Citadel 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-22) on Sat, Sep 26, 2026. Lara Matta led Mercer with 11 kills; The Citadel's Jordyn Sims had a match-high 12.

Data through Nov 3, 4:00 PM CT · final Sep 26

Set	1	2	3	Sets
CITDEL	15	25	22	0
MERCER	25	27	25	3

Win probability

Mercer above 50 · The Citadel below

Biggest swing: 2.1% to The Citadel — set 2, CITDEL 24-24 MERCER. Kill by Gwen Berry (set by Greta Pleuss). MERCER win probability 98% → 96%.

Pre-match

Season fit · includes this match

CITDEL 5.6%94.4% MERCER

The Citadel wins

3-0

0.7%

3-1

1.6%

3-2

3.4%

Mercer wins

3-0

53.8%

3-1

30.1%

3-2

10.5%

CITDEL break %: 39.7% vs this opp
MERCER break %: 51.9% vs this opp

Exact Markov model on each team's RallyIQ serve and receive strength, adjusted for schedule and applied to this matchup (D1 average break % 42.5%). Ratings use the whole season, including this match. Gold = actual result.

Top plays

Largest win-probability swings

01
Gwen BerryKill+2.1%
Kill by Gwen Berry (set by Greta Pleuss)
Set 2 · CITDEL 24-24 MERCER · CITDEL 2% → 4%
02
Brooklyn PalmerKill+1.8%
Kill by Brooklyn Palmer (set by Sammi Bergjans)
Set 2 · CITDEL 24-25 MERCER · MERCER 96% → 97%
03
MercerService error+1.8%
Mercer service error
Set 2 · CITDEL 25-25 MERCER · CITDEL 3% → 4%
04
Lara MattaKill+1.8%
Kill by Lara Matta (set by Sammi Bergjans)
Set 2 · CITDEL 25-26 MERCER · MERCER 96% → 97%
05
Luci LippelgoosAttack error+1.7%
Attack error by Luci Lippelgoos
Set 2 · CITDEL 25-27 MERCER · MERCER 97% → 99%
06
Brooklyn PalmerKill+1.7%
Kill by Brooklyn Palmer (set by Sammi Bergjans)
Set 2 · CITDEL 22-23 MERCER · MERCER 95% → 97%
07
MercerService error+1.5%
Mercer service error
Set 2 · CITDEL 22-21 MERCER · CITDEL 4% → 6%
08
The CitadelAce+1.4%
The Citadel ace
Set 2 · CITDEL 20-18 MERCER · CITDEL 5% → 7%

Box score

Official NCAA box

The Citadelaway

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BLK	PTS
17Jordyn SimsOH	3	12	2	36	.278	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	12
12Luci LippelgoosMB	3	9	6	18	.167	0	1	0	6	0	0	0	10
5Gwen BerryOH	3	4	4	21	.000	1	1	1	9	1	1	1	6
23Elizabeth MillerMB	3	3	2	8	.125	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	4
6Greta PleussS	3	0	0	3	.000	32	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
7Rachel ReiningerOH	1	2	2	6	.000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
2Cameron ReeseOH	3	5	9	32	-.125	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	5
10Jess MartinL/DS	3	1	0	9	.111	1	1	0	18	1	0	0	2
22Emerson HillL/DS	3	0	0	1	.000	0	1	1	3	0	0	0	1
9Megan StoneL/DS	3	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	9	0	0	0	0
3Mia WatsonL/DS	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Team totals		36	25	134	.082	34	5	3	53	6	2	2	62

Mercerhome

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
15Brooklyn PalmerOH	3	10	3	27	.259	0	2	0	13	0	0	1	0.5	12.5
20Lara MattaOH	3	11	5	38	.158	0	0	1	8	0	0	1	0.5	11.5
12Bella PonsMB	3	7	2	17	.294	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1.5	8.5
3Joselynn SanjurjoMB	3	4	2	9	.222	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1.5	5.5
8Sammi BergjansS	3	1	0	4	.250	39	3	2	10	0	0	1	0.5	4.5
21Sarah FragerL/DS	3	0	0	1	.000	0	0	1	9	1	0	0	0	0
19Taylor TimkoOH	3	9	1	16	.500	1	0	0	3	2	0	1	0.5	9.5
9Aubri MartinL/DS	3	0	0	2	.000	0	0	1	15	1	0	0	0	0
6Brooke KaouiL/DS	3	0	0	0	–	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
11Emily MatiasOH	1	0	0	0	–	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Team totals		42	13	114	.254	40	6	7	58	5	1	8	5	77

Starters listed first. BLK is the NCAA total: a solo counts 1, a block assist ½. Recaps and press releases usually quote solos + assists instead, so the same night can be reported as a bigger, whole number. The box score is the source for every counting stat on this page.

The Citadel vs Mercer

Season series · Mercer leads 2-0

Fri, Sep 25, 2026The Citadel at Mercer · Mercer won 3-0Result →
Sat, Sep 26, 2026The Citadel at Mercer · Mercer won 3-0This match

Momentum

Point differential by rally

Longest run 6 CITDEL · MERCER 5

Set 1

15-25

Longest run 3 CITDELMERCER 4

Set 2

25-27

Longest run 5 CITDELMERCER 5

Set 3

22-25

Longest run 6 CITDELMERCER 4

Bars above the line = Mercer leads, below = The Citadel leads. Bright bars are points inside a run of 3+.

Rotations

Sideout and break % by rotation slot

The Citadel

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	44%7/16	33%3/9
2	37%7/19	50%7/14
3	60%6/10	59%10/17
4	55%6/11	25%2/8
5	56%5/9	33%3/9
6	45%5/11	17%1/6
All	47%36/76	41%26/63

Mercer

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	54%7/13	50%6/12
2	44%7/16	56%9/16
3	58%7/12	56%9/16
4	67%6/9	45%5/11
5	71%5/7	44%4/9
6	83%5/6	58%7/12
All	59%37/63	53%40/76

Slot = rotations since the start of the set (slot 1 is the lineup a team opened the set in), not a fixed player alignment. Only clean sets count (3 of 3 here): sets where the NCAA play-by-play has gaps or score corrections are left out because the rotation can't be tracked through them.

Rally log

139 rallies

#	CITDEL-MERCER	Srv	Point	End	Player	Setter / blockers / passer	WP Δ
Set 1
1	0-1	MERCER	MERCER	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.6
2	1-1	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Rachel Reininger	set Lara Matta	+0.5
3	2-1	CITDEL	CITDEL	Bad set	Sammi Bergjans		+0.8
4	2-2	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.6
5	2-3	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Rachel Reininger		+0.6
6	3-3	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+0.6
7	3-4	CITDEL	MERCER×4	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.5
8	3-5	MERCER	MERCER×4	Attack err	Jordyn Sims		+0.6
9	3-6	MERCER	MERCER×4	Ace	Mercer		+0.5
10	3-7	MERCER	MERCER×4	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
11	4-7	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
12	5-7	CITDEL	CITDEL	Kill	Cameron Reese	set Greta Pleuss	+0.5
13	5-8	CITDEL	MERCER×4	Kill	Bella Pons	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
14	5-9	MERCER	MERCER×4	Blocked	Luci Lippelgoos	blk Taylor Timko, Bella Pons	+0.4
15	5-10	MERCER	MERCER×4	Blocked	Cameron Reese	blk Bella Pons, Brooklyn Palmer	+0.3
16	5-11	MERCER	MERCER×4	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+0.2
17	6-11	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+0.2
18	6-12	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.2
19	7-12	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Elizabeth Miller	set Greta Pleuss	+0.2
20	8-12	CITDEL	CITDEL	Ace	The Citadel	aced Taylor Timko	+0.3
21	8-13	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
22	8-14	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+0.3
23	9-14	MERCER	CITDEL	Attack err	Taylor Timko		+0.2
24	9-15	CITDEL	MERCER×4	Serve err	The Citadel		+0.2
25	9-16	MERCER	MERCER×4	Attack err	Rachel Reininger		+0.2
26	9-17	MERCER	MERCER×4	Blocked	Elizabeth Miller	blk Joselynn Sanjurjo	+0.1
27	9-18	MERCER	MERCER×4	Kill	Lara Matta	set Taylor Timko	+0.1
28	10-18	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	·
29	10-19	CITDEL	MERCER×4	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	·
30	10-20	MERCER	MERCER×4	Attack err	Luci Lippelgoos		·
31	10-21	MERCER	MERCER×4	Kill	Bella Pons	set Sammi Bergjans	·
32	10-22	MERCER	MERCER×4	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	·
33	11-22	MERCER	CITDEL	Attack err	Brooklyn Palmer		·
34	11-23	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Bella Pons	set Sammi Bergjans	·
35	12-23	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Rachel Reininger	set Greta Pleuss	·
36	12-24	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	·
37	13-24	MERCER	CITDEL×3	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	·
38	14-24	CITDEL	CITDEL×3	Ace	The Citadel	aced Taylor Timko	·
39	15-24	CITDEL	CITDEL×3	Attack err	Bella Pons		·
40	15-25	CITDEL	MERCER	Attack err	Cameron Reese		·
Set 2
1	1-0	CITDEL	CITDEL	Attack err	Joselynn Sanjurjo		+0.5
2	2-0	CITDEL	CITDEL	Kill	Elizabeth Miller	set Greta Pleuss	+0.5
3	2-1	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
4	3-1	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Jess Martin	set Gwen Berry	+0.5
5	3-2	CITDEL	MERCER×3	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
6	3-3	MERCER	MERCER×3	Attack err	Gwen Berry		+0.5
7	3-4	MERCER	MERCER×3	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
8	4-4	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+0.4
9	4-5	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Bella Pons	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
10	5-5	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.4
11	5-6	CITDEL	MERCER	Attack err	Luci Lippelgoos		+0.4
12	5-7	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Gwen Berry		+0.4
13	6-7	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.4
14	6-8	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
15	7-8	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.4
16	7-9	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
17	8-9	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Cameron Reese	set Greta Pleuss	+0.4
18	8-10	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Joselynn Sanjurjo	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
19	8-11	MERCER	MERCER	Kill	Bella Pons	set Aubri Martin	+0.4
20	9-11	MERCER	CITDEL×3	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
21	10-11	CITDEL	CITDEL×3	Blocked	Bella Pons	blk Gwen Berry	+0.5
22	11-11	CITDEL	CITDEL×3	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.6
23	11-12	CITDEL	MERCER×5	Kill	Bella Pons	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.5
24	11-13	MERCER	MERCER×5	Ace	Mercer	aced Jess Martin	+0.5
25	11-14	MERCER	MERCER×5	Blocked	Jordyn Sims	blk Lara Matta, Bella Pons	+0.4
26	11-15	MERCER	MERCER×5	Bad set	Greta Pleuss		+0.3
27	11-16	MERCER	MERCER×5	Ace	Mercer	aced Gwen Berry	+0.3
28	12-16	MERCER	CITDEL×5	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.2
29	13-16	CITDEL	CITDEL×5	Attack err	Lara Matta		+0.3
30	14-16	CITDEL	CITDEL×5	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.5
31	15-16	CITDEL	CITDEL×5	Attack err	Brooklyn Palmer		+0.6
32	16-16	CITDEL	CITDEL×5	Attack err	Lara Matta		+0.8
33	16-17	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.7
34	17-17	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.8
35	18-17	CITDEL	CITDEL	Ace	The Citadel	aced Aubri Martin	+1.1
36	18-18	CITDEL	MERCER	Serve err	The Citadel		+0.9
37	19-18	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+1.1
38	20-18	CITDEL	CITDEL	Ace	The Citadel		+1.4
39	20-19	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+1.0
40	20-20	MERCER	MERCER	Ace	Mercer		+1.2
41	21-20	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+1.3
42	21-21	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+1.2
43	22-21	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+1.5
44	22-22	CITDEL	MERCER×3	Kill	Joselynn Sanjurjo	set Sammi Bergjans	+1.4
45	22-23	MERCER	MERCER×3	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+1.7
46	22-24	MERCER	MERCER×3	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+1.4
47	23-24	MERCER	CITDEL	Attack err	Lara Matta		+0.7
48	24-24	CITDEL	CITDEL	Kill	Gwen Berry	set Greta Pleuss	+2.1
49	24-25	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+1.8
50	25-25	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+1.8
51	25-26	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+1.8
52	25-27	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Luci Lippelgoos		+1.7
Set 3
1	1-0	MERCER	CITDEL	Blocked	Lara Matta	blk Elizabeth Miller	+0.2
2	2-0	CITDEL	CITDEL	Kill	Elizabeth Miller	set Greta Pleuss	+0.2
3	2-1	CITDEL	MERCER	Blocked	Gwen Berry	blk Sammi Bergjans, Joselynn Sanjurjo	+0.2
4	2-2	MERCER	MERCER	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.2
5	3-2	MERCER	CITDEL×6	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.2
6	4-2	CITDEL	CITDEL×6	Kill	Gwen Berry	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
7	5-2	CITDEL	CITDEL×6	Kill	Gwen Berry	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
8	6-2	CITDEL	CITDEL×6	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
9	7-2	CITDEL	CITDEL×6	Attack err	Lara Matta		+0.3
10	8-2	CITDEL	CITDEL×6	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
11	8-3	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.2
12	9-3	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
13	9-4	CITDEL	MERCER	Attack err	Gwen Berry		+0.2
14	9-5	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Luci Lippelgoos		+0.3
15	10-5	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
16	10-6	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.2
17	10-7	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Luci Lippelgoos		+0.3
18	11-7	MERCER	CITDEL	Serve err	Mercer		+0.3
19	11-8	CITDEL	MERCER×4	Kill	Joselynn Sanjurjo	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
20	11-9	MERCER	MERCER×4	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+0.3
21	11-10	MERCER	MERCER×4	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
22	11-11	MERCER	MERCER×4	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
23	12-11	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Cameron Reese	set Greta Pleuss	+0.3
24	12-12	CITDEL	MERCER	Serve err	The Citadel		+0.3
25	12-13	MERCER	MERCER	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
26	13-13	MERCER	CITDEL×3	Kill	Cameron Reese	set Jess Martin	+0.3
27	14-13	CITDEL	CITDEL×3	Attack err	Joselynn Sanjurjo		+0.4
28	15-13	CITDEL	CITDEL×3	Attack err	Brooklyn Palmer		+0.4
29	15-14	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Joselynn Sanjurjo	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
30	15-15	MERCER	MERCER	Kill	Sammi Bergjans	set Elizabeth Miller	+0.4
31	16-15	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Gwen Berry	set Greta Pleuss	+0.4
32	17-15	CITDEL	CITDEL	Ace	The Citadel	aced Sarah Frager	+0.5
33	17-16	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Bella Pons	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.3
34	18-16	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.5
35	18-17	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Lara Matta	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
36	19-17	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Luci Lippelgoos	set Greta Pleuss	+0.5
37	19-18	CITDEL	MERCER×3	Kill	Brooklyn Palmer	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.4
38	19-19	MERCER	MERCER×3	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+0.5
39	19-20	MERCER	MERCER×3	Ace	Mercer		+0.5
40	20-20	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Greta Pleuss	+0.4
41	20-21	CITDEL	MERCER×3	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+0.4
42	20-22	MERCER	MERCER×3	Attack err	Elizabeth Miller		+0.5
43	20-23	MERCER	MERCER×3	Ace	Mercer		+0.3
44	21-23	MERCER	CITDEL	Kill	Cameron Reese	set Greta Pleuss	+0.2
45	22-23	CITDEL	CITDEL	Kill	Jordyn Sims	set Aubri Martin	+0.4
46	22-24	CITDEL	MERCER	Kill	Taylor Timko	set Sammi Bergjans	+0.5
47	22-25	MERCER	MERCER	Attack err	Cameron Reese		+0.3

Score shown after each rally, The Citadel first. WP Δ = match win-probability points gained, colored by the team that gained them.“NCAA feed gap” rows mark points the NCAA play-by-play never logged (tap Why? for details).

Mercer def. The Citadel 3–0