Mercer University
Fla. Gulf Coast
Volleyball Stumbles at Florida Gulf Coast
11/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer senior Amiee Frutchey booked her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 14 digs as the Bears were defeated 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18) by Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night at Alico Arena.
With the win FGCU swept the season series between the teams and improved to 15-10 (8-3 A-Sun) while Mercer dropped to 10-18 (3-8 A-Sun).
"We are not the team that we were a month ago when we had a five set battle with FGCU that went right down to the end," Mercer head coach Noelle Rooke said. "Injuries have plagued us and we don't have the depth we need right now. This entire year we have dealt with adversity posed by injuries."
Facing the absence of injured setter Madeline Dolny, Rooke was forced to use Monica Sanchez as her only setter against the Eagles on Friday night. Rooke typically runs a two-setter rotation with both Sanchez and Dolny seeing action.
Sanchez responded admirably, booking a season-high 37 assists and adding 13 digs. Her double-double performance marked the third time this season she has accomplished that feat.
In the first set, the teams traded scores until FGCU moved away from a 9-8 lead with a 4-1 charge. The Eagles would hold at least a two point advantage for the remainder of the frame.
In the second set, the Eagles held a slim 21-20 lead before finishing the stanza on a 4-1 run.
In the third set, Mercer fell behind 6-1 before surging back with a 18-8 run that saw the Bears take their largest lead of the evening (19-14). The Bears would eventually capture the set 26-24 on back-to-back kills by junior Charlayna Braxton and Frutchey.
In the fourth set the Eagles once again raced out to an early 6-1 lead. This time, Mercer could not regain control and ultimately fell, 25-18
Frutchey's 16 kills came with only two errors on 30 swings, giving the senior a season-best .467 hitting percentage. Her 14 digs marked the fifth time in the last seven matches she has reached double figure digs.
Frutchey's classmate Anna Coursey also had a strong offensive performance, knocking down 10 kills with only a single error. Coursey's 10 kills came on 29 swings and equated to a .310 hitting percentage.
Senior Charlotte Harris collected a match-high 21 digs in the loss.
Mercer returns to action tomorrow at Stetson in a 3 p.m. match.
