Saturday, September 10, 2011

ATLANTA, Ga. – Four Mercer volleyball players reached double figure kill totals as the Bears edged Georgia 3-2 (15-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 15-11) in Mercer's final match at the Georgia Tech Regency Suites invitational at O'Keefe Gym. Earlier in the day, Mercer fell to host Georgia Tech 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 28-26).

Mercer's split on Saturday moved the team to 2-8 on the year while Georgia Tech improved to 6-2 and Georgia fell to 4-6.

Mercer's victory was a program first over Georgia and marked head coach Noelle Rooke's second victory over an SEC program. In 2008, Rooke guided the Bears to a 3-1 (27-25,25-18,22-25,25-19) victory over Auburn.

"I've watched this team grow up overnight," Rooke said. "It was really special to have this group make Mercer history with the win over Georgia."

Mercer senior Amiee Frutchey pounded down a team-high 15 kills against Georgia while junior Jennifer Katona contributed 13 kills. Senior Anna Coursey and junior Jamie Duffy each had 10 kills in the winning effort.

Junior Madeline Dolny posted her first career double-double effort, tallying 29 assists and 11 digs against the Bulldogs.

After splitting the first four sets, Mercer held a slim 8-7 advantage in the deciding fifth frame. Junior Monica Sanchez set Duffy for a kill, sparking a 3-1 Mercer spurt. Moments later, Frutchey capped the victory with her 15th kill of the afternoon.

Against Georgia Tech, Mercer senior Charlotte Harris passed the 1,000 dig mark for her career. After notching nine digs against Georgia Tech, Harris collected 15 digs against Georgia. The Chapel Hill, N.C. native now has 1,023 digs in her Mercer career.

"Couldn't be more proud of Charlotte, what she's done during her short time as Mercer's libero," Rooke said.