Mercer University
%20(1).png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
North Fla.
Volleyball Clips Ospreys, 3-0
10/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer volleyball team held North Florida to a -.019 hitting percentage en route to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-20) victory in Friday night's Atlantic Sun match at the University Center. All told, Mercer forced UNF into 29 errors while yielding just 27 Osprey kills.
Mercer took its fourth win in its last five matches and moved to 10-16 (3-6 A-Sun) while North Florida saw its four-match winning streak snapped and dropped to 12-15 (3-7 A-Sun).
"This win puts us one step closer to our goal of making the tournament," Mercer head coach Noelle Rooke said. "We have to continue to prepare for each team that we face. We are thankful for the win tonight but are already preparing for tomorrow."
Mercer's defense stifled the UNF attackers all night, holding the visitors to attacking efficiencies of .000, .000 and -.053 in the three sets. The Osprey's offensive woes were due in large part to the Mercer front line defenders. The Bears finished with a 7-3 advantage in blocks.
Senior Charlotte Harris gathered a match-high 14 digs and four assists in the win.
Junior Madeline Dolny dished out 19 assists, tallied five digs and four kills on Friday evening. Dolny's four kills came on 12 attempts with only a single error.
Senior Amiee Frutchey pounded out a team-high nine kills on 22 swings, finishing with a .333 hitting percentage. Frutchey also booked six digs, two assists and two block-assists in the winning effort.
Junior Jamie Duffy notched her 15th double-digit dig performance of the season, recording 10 on Friday night. Duffy also collected five kills, three assists and a service ace against UNF.
In the first set, Mercer jumped all over UNF and raced out to a 7-2 lead. UNF could not recover from its slow start and never had the lead in the opening frame.
The second set was the most competitive, featuring eight tie scores and four lead changes. With the scoreboard showing a 15-15 tie in the set, a kill by senior Anna Coursey sparked a 5-0 Mercer run. The Bears would not surrender that lead and ultimately prevailed, 25-19.
In the third set, Mercer never trailed after rushing out to a 6-1 lead.
Mercer returns to action on Saturday, hosting its annual Senior Day match versus Jacksonville. Coursey, Frutchey and Harris will be honored before the 3 p.m. first serve.
