September 4, 2010

Mercer Downs The Citadel in Bear Brawl Finale

MACON, Ga. – Mercer junior Amiee Frutchey piled up nine kills, nine digs and three blocks as the Bears cruised to a 3-0 victory over The Citadel in Saturday afternoon’s non-conference volleyball match at the University Center.

Mercer won its second-straight match and improved to 2-6 (0-0 A-Sun) while The Citadel fell to 0-7 (0-0 SoCon).

The Bears out-blocked the Bulldogs, 8-6, marking the fourth-straight match in which the team has bested its opponent in the category. Senior middle blockers Krista Hurley and Libby Hansch combined for five total blocks as the Bears limited the visitors to a .131 hitting percentage.

Freshman setter Bridget Sheerin dished out 24 assists and tallied a pair of service aces in the winning effort. Sheerin’s classmate, Cassie Roy also notched a pair of service aces against The Citadel.

Mercer came out strong on its home floor, rushing out to a 10-3 lead in the first set. The Citadel battled back tie the set at 20 apiece, forcing Rooke to call a timeout.

Following the break in action, Mercer scored the next four points of the match and eventually prevailed by a count of 25-22.

In the second set, the teams were deadlocked at 10 before Mercer ripped off a 6-0 run. Once again, the Citadel proved resilient and rallied to close within two at 24-22.

The final set featured 12 tie scores and nine lead changes before Mercer captured a 25-22 win to clinch the victory.

Mercer returns to action in a mid-week test at Georgia State on September 8. Match time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.