Mercer University
Western Caro.
Volleyball Travels to Play Western Carolina, ETSU
10/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Mercer volleyball team opens a two-game Southern Conference road swing on Friday evening, challenging Western Carolina at the Ramsey Center at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the Bears travel to Johnson City, Tennessee to face East Tennessee State.
Mercer (5-13, 1-4 SoCon) aims to string together back-to-back wins after downing Savannah State 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-15) on Wednesday night at Hawkins Arena. The Bears are 1-1 in true road matches this season after splitting with The Citadel and Samford to open league play.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Western Carolina enters the weekend on a three-match winning streak and touts an overall record of 10-11 (3-4 SoCon). The Catamounts are 5-1 at home this year, with the lone loss to UNC Greensboro on Sept. 26.
Western Carolina returns five starters from last year's team that went 18-13 (8-8 SoCon). The squad was picked to finish sixth in the Preseason SoCon Coaches Poll, while outside hitter Jordan Timmerman and middle blocker Addy George were each voted Preseason All-Conference.
The Catamounts ranks second among conference teams in blocks per set (2.13) and digs per set (16.37). George and Katie O'Connor both average more than 0.80 blocks per set while Elyssa Mulheron anchors the back line with 4.59 digs per set.
ETSU will take on Mercer on Saturday at 2 p.m. after hosting Wofford on Friday night. The Bucs are currently 8-13 (2-3 SoCon) after dropping last week's matches at Furman and Western Carolina.
The Bucs bring back six starters from last year's 22-9 (16-2 A-Sun) team that fell just short of an NCAA Tournament berth with a loss to Lipscomb in the A-Sun final. In preseason polling of SoCon coaches, ETSU was picked to finish third while Meredith Hardy was named a Preseason All-Conference selection.
ETSU ranks second among SoCon teams in opponent hitting percentage (.195). Katie Muey leads the conference in digs per set (5.3), while Khadijah Wiley and Hardy are among the top blockers in the conference with averages of 0.94 and 1.19 blocks per set, respectively.
MATCH NOTES
Mercer attempts to win back-to-back matches for the second time this season after opening the year 2-0 with wins over Kent State and the College of Charleston.
The Bears are coming off a season-high .414 hitting percentage in the match against Savannah State. Five players had attacking percentages over .500, led by Claire Walizcek's .750 figure.
