Monday, October 06, 2008

MACON, Ga. - The Mercer Bears stayed hot over the weekend, pushing their winning streak to a season-high five straight, thanks in large part to the stellar play of outside hitter Karen Dorris. On Monday, the senior earned her first career Player of the Week award, the conference office announced.

Dorris' Bears went 3-0 over the past week in extending their winning streak to five contests. On Tuesday, Mercer earned its first victory against Georgia State outside of Macon in program history. Dorris then willed her squads to two Atlantic Sun wins, defeating ETSU, 3-2 and dropping USC Upstate, 3-1. The Nashville, Tenn., native was stellar in all three matches, pounding out 53 kills for an average of 3.79 kills per set. The education major stuffed the stat book, also posting 51 digs, (3.64 d/s) eight total blocks, seven set assists, and a pair of service aces. Dorris notched double-double performances at Georgia State and at USC Upstate. The senior fell just one dig short of a double-double versus ETSU.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers

Kaley Read, UNF (So. – RS – Tampa, Fla.. – Nutrition) – Recorded her fifth double-double of the season on Saturday with a match-high 23 kills and a career-high 24 digs to along with four blocks in UNF's 3-1 win against Campbell.

Ashley Yance, FGCU (Jr. – MH –Fort Myers, Fla. – Business) – Hit .448 in FGCU's 2 matches. Averaged 1.78 kills per game. Averaged .3 blocks per game, 0 assists.

Shelley Walroth, Jacksonville (Jr. – L – Cincinnati, Ohio – Psychology) –Averaged seven digs per set, 0.50 assists and 0.33 service aces in only six sets played last week. Ranks sixth in the nation in digs per set.

A-Sun Weekly Notes

USC Upstate Jennifer Calloway’s claims on being the youngest coach in the NCAA with 250 wins lasted less than 10 days. Trinity (Conn.)’s Jennifer Bowman, 34, won her 250th career match on Saturday to take the honor from Calloway. Bowman has coached all 11 of her seasons at the Division III level while Calloway has coached 11 seasons at the Division II level and two in Division I, with all 13 seasons of her coaching occuring at USC Upstate. Calloway, 35, is still the youngest coach in Division I with 200 wins.

One of FGCU’s impressive streaks came to an end over the weekend. A 14-match winning streak over A-Sun foes was halted with a 3-1 loss at Belmont. However, the Eagles return home where they have been dominant in the program’s history to put a 29 consecutive wins streak on the line against Jacksonville. FGCU is 37-1 all-time in Alico Arena and have won 30 matches by a 3-0 score.

Campbell sophomore outside hitter Emily Werner posted 19 kills and 22 digs as Campbell went 0-2 last week. The Sarasota, Fla. native also grabbed a air of aces on the week. In Saturday's loss to North Florida, Werner tagged 13 kills with 13 digs for a double-double. Freshman setter Hope Leatigaga added 47 assists for the Camels, with 33 coming against UNF. The Newport News, Va. native also registered 20 digs and 11 kills on the week. The rookie was the only Camel to reach double-double status in both matches last week, posting 14 assists and 10 digs on Friday, and 33 assists with 10 digs against the Ospreys.

Lipscomb Lady Bisons senior libero Jessica Turner has recorded double figures in digs in nine straight matches.