2009 Mercer Volleyball Schedule
MACON, Ga. – The annual Bear Brawl and a trip to Georgia Tech’s tournament highlight the 2009 Mercer volleyball schedule as released by head coach
Noelle Rooke on Thursday. In addition to nine formidable non-conference matchups, the Bears face a pair of contests against each Atlantic Sun team in hopes of improving on last year’s 13-7 conference mark.
Last season the Bears were upended in the first round of the conference tournament after posting an 18-10 regular season record. Rooke, who was named 2008 Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year after guiding the Bears to a program-best 13 league wins, believes the team can improve upon last year’s success.
“Our goal is to improve upon the strides we made last year and get to the top of the conference,” Rooke said. “There is no room to falter this year; we’ve got to have strong play from start to finish.”
The season kicks off on August 28 when the Bears invade Atlanta for play against Austin Peay in the opening match of the Georgia Tech tournament. A day after challenging the Lady Govs, the Orange and Black are poised for a meeting with in-state powerhouses Georgia and Georgia Tech.
A year ago Georgia finished 34-27 (10-10 SEC) in head coach Joel McCartney’s second year with the team. The 2009 Bulldogs lack a senior on the roster but boast loads of talent, including returning All-SEC Freshman team selection, setter Kathleen Gates.
Georgia Tech will face Mercer under direction from first-year head coach Tonya Johnson, who comes to the school after leading Texas to the 2008 Final Four. Georgia Tech racked up a 20-10 (12-8 ACC) record a year ago, but will face the obstacle of replacing the departed first-team all-ACC duo of Talisa Kellogg and Callie Miller.
“After training so hard in the offseason it will be exciting to see our team hit the floor against strong competition right off the bat,” Rooke said.
On Sept. 4-5, Mercer hosts the sixth annual Bear Brawl, welcoming non-conference challengers Troy, Bethune-Cookman and Furman. Furman is the first of three teams Mercer will face that appeared in the NCAA tournament last year.
“Once again we have the opportunity to see some talented teams from other leagues in the Bear Brawl,” Rooke said. “We want to come away with another Bear Brawl title and carry that momentum into our conference schedule.”
Conference play opens with a pair of road tests on Sept. 8 at Kennesaw State and Sept. 11 at USC Upstate. After taking on the Spartans, Mercer travels to Tallahassee to take on reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champions FAMU. Mercer and FAMU will also meet on Oct. 6 in Macon.
Notable conference tests include home and road matches against Belmont (Sept. 26, Oct. 16) and Florida Gulf Coast (Oct. 8, Nov. 7). Last season, Belmont represented the A-Sun in the NCAA tournament after sweeping Lipscomb in the A-Sun tournament final.
This season, FGCU will be eligible for postseason play for the first time. Last year the Eagles posted a league-best 18-2 A-Sun record.
The Bears will host the final non-conference match of the year on Oct. 20 against Georgia State. Last year, Mercer claimed a thrilling 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-12) win over the Panthers in Atlanta.
The 2009 A-Sun Championship is scheduled for Nov. 19-21 in Fort Myers, Fla.