Volleyball Moves Forward Despite Tough Results

J. Andrew Lockwood
BearZone Columnist
October 2, 2010


After winning four of five in mid-September, the Bears seem to stumbling into October’s conference play. After recording a non-conference win against in-state rival Savannah State, Mercer faced two of the A-Sun’s toughest squads in their Nashville road trip to Lipscomb and Belmont. With a team full of experienced veterans and up-and-coming underclassmen, the Bears seem to be building valuable experience as they hit a long stretch of conference games.


Mercer 3 – Savannah State 0

After a season full of tough contests, it was nice for the Bears to take out some frustration on the Tigers from across the state. Winning in dominant fashion (25-12, 25-12, 25-17), the Mercer offense looked spectacular to the tune of a .359 hitting percentage in comparison to Savannah State’s -.085. Senior Krista Hurley would lead her team on the short night, dropping 6 kills, a pair of service aces, and a dig joined by Erica Vrvilo (5 kills), Charlayna Braxton (5 kills), and Anna Coursey (5 kills, solo block, block assist).

Mercer’s net play was a brick wall for Savannah State as they would finish with more attack errors (19) than kills (13) on the night.

“It was great to be back on our home floor,” Coach Rooke said after the game. “Tonight was a true team victory because everyone contributed.”

UNC-Asheville 3 – Mercer 0

The Bulldogs looked like the cream-of-the-crop in the Big South as possible NCAA contenders as they stopped Mercer in their tracks (25-21, 25-17, 25-16) in a quick Tuesday night match. Two Bulldogs, Cindi Miller and Kelsey Benorden would account for 12 kills and 10 kills respectively while Mercer’s Jamie Duffy had a career night with 10 kills, 5 digs and a block assist. Mercer offense struggled against UNC-Asheville’s tall lineup at the net, hitting only .059 for the night.

“Tonight we didn’t bring our ‘A’-game and it’s frustrating,” the coach vented on MercerBears.com. “Right now I feel like we’re competing more in practice. Hat’s off to UNC-Asheville because they played great tonight and got the best of us.”

Lipscomb 3 – Mercer 0

The former A-Sun champs faced a resilient Mercer squad but ultimately bested the Bears in three sets (25-16, 25-20, 25-22). Lipscomb extends their unbeaten streak during the regular season within the A-Sun to 26 matches. Amiee Frutchey’s 8 kills highlighted Mercer’s offensive efforts, but the Bisons’ Alex Kelly recorded 12 kills of her own to lead her team in a defensive matchup. On the defensive side, Charlotte Harris would record 20 digs while Anna Coursey (1 solo block, 1 block assists) and Erica Vrvilo (1 solo block, 2 block assists) would led the Bears at the net.

“Overall I’m pleased with how our team performed,” said Rooke. “Our blocking was good and Charlotte Harris was great on defense. The setters improved their play as the match went on as well,” she added.

Belmont 3 – Mercer 0

The Bruins closed out the Bears’ trip to Nashville in three straight sets (25-9, 25-21, 25-17) to give Mercer their second conference loss of the 2010 season. After a disastrous first set, Mercer looked like a new team in the 2nd set, opening with a 9-1 run. But Belmont, to their credit, responded to every Mercer attack, coming from behind to escape with a four point win.

Belmont’s Maggie Johnson (16 kills, 14 digs) and Kayla Albritton (13 kills, 5 digs) stole the spotlight for the Bruins while Krista Hurley led Mercer with 7 kills.

Cone leads Mercer with 5th Place Finish at Kiawah

J. Andrew Lockwood
BearZone Columnist

Josh Cone can flat out play some golf. The junior showed his potential at the season-opening tournament for the Mercer men’s golf team in Charleston, South Carolina, finishing four strokes back from the eventual winner, John Duke Hudson (College of Charleston). After shooting a 76 during the first round, Cone looked sharp in the final two rounds, shooting 71s to end with a three-day total of 218. Cone’s finish helped propel Mercer to a tie for 7th place in the 12 team tournament.

"Josh Cone had an outstanding tournament,” said head coach Andrew Tredway. “I think he realized this week that he can play with anyone in the country and he certainly should feel that way with that performance against a top field. The thing he has to do now is continue to work hard and put in the time to consistently be able to play the way he is capable of playing," he added.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the opening tournament for Tredway was the way his team responded to adversity. After notching a 10th place finish as a team following the 1st round, the Bears fought to lower their score by five strokes each day to move up into an eventual tie for 7th with Davidson. North Carolina State (+9) won the team title, besting Mercer by 24 strokes.

"We're pretty excited about the team we have and for the possibilities for this year. This was a deep, quality tournament and to go out and finish 7th, beat some good teams and stay close to Vanderbilt says a lot about the makeup of our guys," said Tredway.

Matt Kocolowski improved each day of the tournament too, moving up 13 places to finish in a tie for 20th place (+10), while teammates Stefan Labuschagne (T-33rd, +13), Thomas Holmes (T-38th, +14), Mookie DeMoss (T-48th, +17), and John Gregory Joseph (T-52nd, +18) would round out Mercer’s six man roster.

"I'm really proud of the way this team hung in there this week,” Tredway added. “ Several of them got off to rough starts and really gutted it out to help the team. Kocolowski did that early in the tournament and ended up finishing top 20. That ‘never die’ attitude is what we've been missing, and now we have it."

With four new golfers on the scorecard for the tournament, the Bears are quickly reshaping their identity on the links. Following the two day tournament at the Kiawah Island Ocean Course, the Mercer men will travel to the Hermitage Country Club in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia for the Virginia Commonwealth University Shootout. The VCU Shootout will be the final tune-up for the Bears before they host the nationally recognized Brickyard Collegiate in Macon on October 8-10th.

Women’s Golf Shows Big Improvement at Bannister Classic

J. Andrew Lockwood
BearZone Columnist

It had been quite a while since Mercer had someone finish a round in the top spot during tournament play. Freshman Lacey Fears did just that after the first round, leading the Chris Bannister Classic at the Silver Lakes Golf Course in Glencoe, Alabama.

Fears would finish 9th in the final standings after finishing +15 for the tournament (72, 77, 82). Mercer would fall one spot on the final day of play to finish 4th behind tournament champion Jacksonville State, Lamar, and A-Sun rival Florida Gulf Coast. Going into the final round, the Bears even had a chance to take the second spot from Lamar, but finished ten strokes back from the runner-ups and four strokes behind the FGCU Eagles. The Gamecocks of Jacksonville State easily won the tournament, posting a 899 to win by an unheralded 28 strokes over Lamar.

“We had a chance entering the day to set ourselves apart and it just didn’t happen for us,” commented head coach Gary Guyer following the season opening match. “We’ll just have to regroup and work harder,” he reported to MercerBears.com.

Fellow freshman Mary Alice Murphy would climb the standings for Mercer’s top individual finisher, taking 7th place at +14 (81, 72, 77). Teammates Kimberly Graff (+23), Aurelie Wiriath (+28), and Kaitlin Marrin (+30) would finish in 21st, 29th, and 31st respectively.

Depsite the sluggish third round finish, the tournament showed improvement from the Belle Bears who finished in the middle of the seven team tournament. The two freshman were especially impressive in their first collegiate tournament.

After the first two rounds, Guyer commented, “I walked with Mary Alice today and she was striking the ball really well. Two freshman shooting the low rounds today is really encourageing.”

The Bears now have two weeks to prepare for the annual Eat a Peach Collegiate tournament, hosted by Mercer at the local Oakview Golf Course. The tournament, geared towards regional in-state competitors, could see the Bears capture their first tournament title after a two year drought.

2010 Women's Golf Preview

J. Andrew Lockwood
BearZone Columnist

It’s a changing of the guard as the 2010 fall season starts for Gary Guyer’s women’s squad. With only nine players on the roster rather than the 12+ during the past two seasons, competition for the top five spots should be a little easier than in years past. Not that there’s a drop off in talent, but solely because there’s less competition on the team.

“Going into my fourth season, this is the best team we have had from top to bottom,” said Guyer. “Each incoming class is bringing better talent onto our team. The upperclassmen continue to work hard and improve so we finally have a dynamic that makes the entire team better,” he added.

Known for their fierce competitiveness, whatever five qualify for the tournaments will certainly bring their ‘A’ game. Led by the lone senior on the team, Kayli Wicker, Guyer’s younger squad returns several regulars in the top lineup. Junior Alicia Poole struggled last season with aspects of her game, but will look to rekindle the magic she found on the links during her freshman year with the Bears. Sophomores Kimmy Graff, Kaitlin Marrin, and Aurelie Wiriath compiled valuable tournament experience in the fall and spring seasons with all four returning from the A-Sun Women’s Golf Championship last April.

Shooting 305 four consecutive days, the squad peaked at the right time last spring, playing their best tournament golf of the 2009-10 season. Graduate Monica Kelsey finished her golf career in a tie for 8th place in the A-Sun while Graff, Poole, Wiriath, and Marrin found their respective grooves during the three day tournament.

“Last year we took a young team to the conference championship and we scored well,” Guyer added. “This team is going to be even younger. We just finished qualifying for our first tournament which is in Alabama at a Robert Trent Jones Resort. Three sophomores (Aurelie Wiriath, Kaitlin Marrin, Kimmy Graff) along with our two incoming freshmen (Lacey Fears and Mary Alice Murphy) will travel to the this event. They played very well in the three qualifying rounds.”

The Belle Bears also welcome back returning players Keri Lynn Carson and Jessica Arthur while freshmen Lacey Fears and Mary Alice Murphy join the roster. Fears and Murphy, two highly touted recruits, could push the returning letter winners for their traveling spots if they adjust quickly to the collegiate game.

Once again, Coach Guyer will take his team to familiar tournament during the fall and spring seasons along with a few new tournament destinations. The fall schedule includes trips to the Chris Bannister Golf Classic (Jacksonville, FL), the Eat a Peach Collegiate (hosted at Oakview Golf Course here in Macon), the Sea Trail Intercollegiate (Sunset Beach, NC), the LPGA Invitational (Daytona Beach, FL), and the Lady Paladin Invitational (Greenville, SC). The spring session will include a repeat trip to Jacksonville, Kiawah Island (SC), the Barefoot at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach (SC), and the Cincinnati Spring Invitational (Crystal River, FL) before the A-Sun Championship in mid April.

“We have a challenging schedule this year with eight 3-day events. I believe we have a chance to finish near the top in some of them,” the coach added in regards to the schedule. “The players need to believe in themselves because I have seen how well they can play. They can win. Several of them can compete with any collegiate player in the country.”

2010 Volleyball Season Preview

J. Andrew Lockwood
BearZone Columnist


Leadership? Check. Strong senior class? Check. High expectations? Check that box as well. 2010 could be a banner season for the Mercer volleyball team as they hope to cap the careers of three seniors who have helped turn around a once dismal team.

Libby Hansch, Krista Hurley, and Erica Vrvilo have been mainstays in the Mercer lineup for the past three years and now in their final season, will try to lead the Bears to unchartered waters, an Atlantic Sun Championship. Last season’s 11-18 record was a disappointment after the 18-11 campaign in 2008, but the trio of seniors have momentum, young talent, and a passionate coach on their side.

The momentum came late last season as it was all but certain that the Bears would miss the Atlantic Sun tournament after such a dominant year the season before. With a 6-17 record, the team played up to their potential during the final six matches of the season, winning five to come just within reach of making the postseason.

“The goals for this year are to build off of last season’s success. We had a really strong run at the end of the last season and I think we’re hungrier,” said seventh year head coach Noelle Rooke.

Joining the trio of seniors will be six other returning players including outside hitters Aimee Frutchey, Rachel Urbelis, rightside Anna Coursey and libero Charlotte Harris. The depth of the team dramatically increased during the offseason with six fresh faces joining the Bears this season. Among them, Carly Iannarino and Bridget Sheerin will vie for the setter position, the only hole left unfilled from last season’s lineup. Outside hitters Cassie Roy and Emily Rochefort should also see considerable playing time at the outside hitter position as will Lizzie Knapper at the rightside. Zoe Becton will also add depth at the middle blocker spot. Junior Charlayna Braxton should see more time in the middle blocker rotation and after sophomore Jamie Duffy’s breakout 2009 season, we’ll surely see her more on the floor this season.

“We have six new freshman and I think they really help out with our team’s depth,” commented Libby Hansch on her team’s roster.

The schedule is once again challenging, but not too imposing. Facing 9 teams out of the top 125 in last year’s RPI rankings, the Bears will have their work cut out for them early in the season with non-conference tilts that include opponents like Washington, Auburn, Georgia State, North Carolina State, and UNC-Asheville. Rooke’s squad will make appearances at three tournaments in the first two months of the season, taking trips to the The Invitational at Seattle, North Carolina State Tournament, and South Carolina State Tournament. Mercer will also host Presbyterian, Tennessee-Martin, and the Citadel in this year’s edition of the Bear Brawl.
“We’re going to have to work hard from the beginning and I’ll have to be smart with my decision making so that come October we’re rested and really playing well. Once conference rolls around, that’s what we’re aiming for and what it’s all about,” said Rooke.

Key conference matches in the University Center will feature Atlantic Sun opponents Jacksonville (Oct. 9th), ETSU (Nov. 6th), and Kennesaw State (Nov. 13th).