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August 28, 2010
Volleyball Falls to Portland State, Seattle
SEATTLE, Wash. – Junior middle blocker Charlayna Braxton collected four kills and posted a career-high six blocks, but Portland State rode a 19-kill performance by senior outside hitter Whitney Phillips to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) victory in Saturday afternoon’s non-conference volleyball match. On Saturday evening, Mercer fell victim to Seattle University 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-21) on its home floor.
With the losses, Mercer drops to 0-4 (0-0 A-Sun). Portland State remained unbeaten at 2-0 (0-0 Big Sky) and Seattle improved to 2-1.
“Against Portland State, we didn’t play near as good as volleyball as we did yesterday,” head coach Noelle Rooke. “Charlayna really stepped up and brought a lot of enthusiasm, I was really proud of her defensive game.”
Mercer out-blocked Portland State 6-5, but was limited to a .093 hitting percentage in the loss. Freshman Bridget Sheerin dished out 18 assists, tallied five digs, four kills and a pair of blocks against the Vikings.
Portland State scored the first point of each set and never trailed in the match.
Mercer libero Charlotte Harris topped 20 digs for the first time in 2010, finishing the contest with 21. Senior middle blocker Krista Hurley led the team offensively for the second-straight match. Hurley finished the match with seven kills on 20 attempts.
Junior rightside Anna Coursey hammered down four kills on just six swings against the Vikings.
Against Seattle, the Redhawks pulled away from a 13-10 set one lead with a 9-2 run before claiming a 25-14 victory in the opening stanza.
In the second set, the teams were deadlocked at 16 before the Redhawks scored four-straight points. Seattle would go on to capture a 25-19 second set win.
In the final set, Mercer trailed 16-12 before storming back to tie the set at 20 apiece. The set was tied once more at 22, but Seattle scored the final three points to close out the match.
Hurley led the Bears offensively for the third-straight match. The La Verne, Calif. native recorded nine kills with zero errors against Seattle. Junior outside hitter Aimee Frutchey finished with seven kills, 12 digs and a pair of blocks.
“Every single set of every match this weekend we got better,” Rooke said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, but the first weekend will not define this team.”
Mercer returns to action on Wednesday, August 1 at Auburn. Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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