Volleyball Opens Home Slate against Mercer Tuesday
9/3/2012 11:32:23 PM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern volleyball squad plays its home opener Tuesday Sept. 4, at 6 p.m. against Mercer in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles will be available to sign posters following the match.
The Eagles enter the game with a 4-2 overall record after weekend tournaments at Georgia and Auburn. Both GSU losses this season came at the hands of SEC opponents Georgia and Auburn.
Mercer opened play last weekend in a tournament at Charleston Southern, where the Bears went 2-1 with wins over Canisius (3-1) and Charleston Southern (3-0) and a loss to Furman (3-1).
Georgia Southern leads the all-time series against Mercer 30-12, but the teams have split victories in the last four matches.
Georgia Southern features a balanced offense with four players recording 50-plus kills this season. Enjoli Johnson leads the squad in hitting percentage at .341 and has 51 kills. Meredith Paskert leads the team with 74 kills and was named to the all-tournament team each of the last two weekends.
Moriah Bellissimo has 63 kills and is second on the team with 79 digs, and Jamie DeRatt has 54 kills and 64 digs on the year. Freshman Alexandra Beecher leads the team in digs with 109.
Setter Kate Van Dyke (right) has 261 assists this year, and her 47 assist outing against Auburn gave her the new GSU career record. The three-time, first-team All-Southern Conference selection will be honored before the contest against Mercer.
Molly Locke leads Mercer in hitting with a .286 percentage and 39 kills to go along with 35 digs. Monica Sanchez has 92 assists, and Emily Rochefort leads the Bears in digs with 50.
Georgia Southern heads out to New Mexico to play three matches in the Lobo Invitational Sept. 7-8. The Eagles will take on New Mexico, UCSB and Portland in Albuquerque.
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