November 5, 2010

Volleyball Downs USC Upstate to Clinch A-Sun Tournament Berth

MACON, Ga. – Mercer junior Anna Coursey crushed nine kills and added three blocks to help lift the Bears to a 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22) win over USC Upstate in Friday night’s Atlantic Sun conference volleyball match.  With the win, the Bears clinched a berth in the upcoming conference tournament.

Mercer moved to 13-16 (5-3 A-Sun) with the win while USC Upstate fell to 10-16 (1-7 A-Sun).

“When the game was on the line, our girls dug deep and capitalized on every chance we had,” Mercer head coach Noelle Rooke said.

The match was a back-and-forth affair, featuring 20 tie scores and six lead changes.

After splitting the opening two sets, the third set was knotted at 20 apiece before the Bears ripped off three straight points.  Moment later, the Mercer defense forced a Spartan attacker into an error to capture the third set victory.

In the fourth set, Mercer jumped out to a 6-3 lead before USC Upstate was forced to call a timeout.  The stoppage had little effect however, as the Bears extended their lead to as many as five (15-10).

Trailing by five, the Spartans employed a monotonous 10-6 run to close within a single score.  On the next point, freshman setter Carly Iannarino passed the ball to Coursey, who slammed home her ninth kill of the evening.  Mercer would go on to claim a 25-22 fourth set win.

Coursey’s nine kills came on 22 swings as the Savannah, Ga. native recorded a .318 hitting percentage.  Iannarino finished the match with 18 assists and eight digs.

Senior middle blocker Krista Hurley tallied a team-high 11 kills and four blocks in the winning effort.  Hurley’s classmate, Libby Hansch, recorded a team-high .333 hitting percentage on the strength of seven kills.

Junior libero Charlotte Harris racked up 30 digs and moved into second place among the program’s single-season dig leaders.  Harris has now totaled 565 digs on the season.

Mercer returns to action hosting ETSU on Saturday at 3 p.m.