J. Andrew Lockwood
Senior Editor / Columnist
The volleyball season continues to get longer and longer for the Mercer women as they fell in A-Sun play to Kennesaw State last Tuesday night 3-1. The four set match came after a weekend where the Bears split matches with opponents FGCU and Stetson on the road. The loss to the in-state rival Owls all but eliminates the Bears from postseason contention as they fell to 9th in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings.
Recapping the road trip to Florida, Mercer traveled to Fort Myers to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the Friday night matchup where they would ultimately fall in four sets 3-1. The Bears played well in their first three sets, winning the second before the intermission, but the FGCU offense proved to be too much for coach Noelle Rooke’s squad to handle as four Eagles would finish with double-digit kills on the night. Led by Jelena Simic (15 kills) and teammates Emma Racila (14 kills), Jacqueline Cowden (14 kills), and Ashley Yance (11 kills), the Eagles finished the night hot on offense despite Mercer’s best efforts.
The Bears still played well, with Krista Hurley pounding out 14 kills and Rachel Urbelis and Amiee Frutchey contributing 12 kills each, but Mercer’s standout second set couldn’t be repeated the rest of the night leading to their demise.
Taking the hard loss in Fort Myers, the Bears traveled north to DeLand, Florida to face the cellar-dweller Stetson Hatters. With the favorable matchup against a team still searching for its first conference win, Mercer wasted little time putting away the Hatters (25-18, 25-15, 22-25, and 25-16). Afterwards, Mercer head coach Noelle Rooke commented on MercerBears.com, “We set goals for this matchup and achieved those goals. I’m proud of my team with this win.”
Playing on a bum ankle, junior Libby Hansch slammed down 16 kills over the course of the match (a .516 hitting percentage). Leading the offense charge the also saw Urbelis, Frutchey, Hurley and fellow junior Erica Vrvilo reach double figures with kills, Mercer would go on to end the match with a .304 hitting percentage. With their fifth win of the year and third conference win, Mercer left little doubt in the minds of the fans at the Edmunds Center of who the better team was.
With their confidence back, the Bears returned home to face their rivals Kennesaw State in a mid-week matchup. Needing the crucial victory to move up in the A-Sun standings, Mercer put forth a big effort early in the match but were out-played by the Owls’ outside hitters. Sabrita Gulley’s 21 kills propelled Kennesaw State to the 25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15 victory in the University Center.
After winning the second set of the match, Mercer appeared to be roaring back and contending for the win after opening the third set with an 8-2 lead. However, defensive miscues would haunt the Bears as their offense also dried up, resulting in a 18-4 KSU run. The bright spot on the floor for Mercer was senior setter Chelsea Gebben who recorded her second double-double in the last three matches, tallying 25 assists, 16 digs, and 2 kills for the night.
The Bears must now regroup again as they face the likes of ETSU and Campbell on the road before their final home stand against USC-Upstate, Stetson, and Florida Gulf Coast.
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