Mercer University
Jacksonville St.
Volleyball Splits on Friday at Troy Invitational
9/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. – The Mercer volleyball team earned a split against Jacksonville State and Alabama A&M in Friday's final day action at the Troy Invitational. The Bears fell to Jacksonville State 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) before rebounding to sweep Alabama A&M 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-13).
Mercer's split pushed the team's record to 3-3 on the season while Jacksonville State moved to 2-4 and Alabama A&M fell to 1-5. Junior Molly Locke was named to the Troy Invitational All-Tournament team after averaging 3.64 kills, 3.0 digs and 0.45 blocks per set in Mercer's three matches.
Locke collected her fourth double-double of the year in the win over Alabama A&M, smashing 14 kills to go along with 10 digs. Locke also added a service ace to her stat line in the winning effort.
Freshman Claire Walizcek handed out a match-high 20 assists in the win, helping Mercer's offense record a .405 hitting percentage for the match. Senior Cara Tripp was a perfect five-for-five on attack attempts while sophomore Jordan Gollon was also impressive at the net with six kills on 12 swings.
The Bears were in command from the start, using a 10-4 run at the beginning of the first set to seize control. In the second set, Mercer scored the first four points and never trailed en route to the 25-11 win. The final frame was tied 6-6 before Mercer employed a 7-2 run to break away from the Bulldogs.
Mercer was limited to a .069 hitting percentage in the opening match of the day against the Gamecocks. Leading the way offensively in the losing effort was sophomore Ellie James, who put down seven of her 14 attacking attempts with just a single error for a team-leading .429 hitting percentage.
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, with 10 tie scores and six lead changes. With the score tied 22-22, Jacksonville State got a kill from Brianna Glidewell and a service ace from Emily Rutherford to gain separation. Moments later, Glidewill sealed the set win with her second kill of the stanza.
In the second set and third sets Jacksonville State got off to strong starts. In the second set, Mercer was unable to recover from an initial 3-0 deficit while the third set saw the Bears fall behind 7-1 before surrendering the match.
Mercer returns to action next weekend at the Magnolia Invitational hosted by Ole Miss. The Bears are set to open the event against the host Rebels on Friday at 1 p.m.
