Talented Trio Signs With Beach Volleyball

MACON -- Mercer Beach Volleyball has announced the addition of three student-athletes who will join the program for the 2024-25 season. The newest Bears are Grace Rathburn, Kristi Talocka and Maggie Forsyth.

"I am extremely excited about the 2024 recruiting class. All of the athletes bring the intangibles that get me excited as a coach. Their passion, work ethic and pursuit of excellence not only on the sand, but also in the classroom will make an immediate positive impact on our team and the university," head coach Josh Marsh said.

Hailing from Ashville, Ohio, Grace Rathburn comes to Mercer after a successful academic and club career. A member of the Elite Volleyball Training Center, Rathburn was recognized twice on the JVA Beach Volleyball Watchlist, and helped capture a fourth-place finish in the 16U Open National Championship alongside a 14U Ohio Valley Region Beach Volleyball title.

The Teays Valley High School senior was a member of the National Honor Society and was a standout in both indoor volleyball as well as tennis, the latter resulting in a 2nd Team Mid-State League recognition.

Kristi Talocka arrives in Macon from Parkland, Fla., after seeing success in the sand for both her club and high school teams. The 6-foot senior from St. Thomas Aquinas High School guided her squad to the round of 16 in the Florida State Tournament last season averaging four aces and five kills per set throughout the season. Talocka is also a member of the Sandstorm Beach Volleyball club team where she helped lead her pairing to a second-place finish in the Sandstorm Tournament series.

Talocka also found success in the classroom as a member of the Arts Honor Society, as well as Aquinas Kindness, a program dedicated to speaking engagements among local middle schools to encourage compassion.

Maggie Forysth rounds out the recruiting class, joining the Bears from Whitewater High School in Fayetteville, Ga. The local product starred on the indoor team, where she helped lead her team to the Elite 8 of the GHSA Class AAAA State Volleyball Championship this past season, and was named 1st Team All-Region and Region Offensive Player of the Year. In the sand, Forsyth played for Marsh Volleyball Performance, headed by Rachel Marsh.

The incoming freshman comes to Mercer as an honor roll student, sporting a 4.0 high school GPA and was a member of the National Honor Society, National Social Studies Honor Society and HOSA, an organization for future health science education students.

Rathburn and Talocka both plan on majoring in business, with Forsyth majoring in kinesiology.

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