Photo: FAMU's Zaira Manzo, Sophomore, 5-10, S., Santa Maria of Fatima High School, Lima, PeruThe Mercer volleyball squad dropped a 3-1 decision to Florida A&M Wednesday evening at the Gaither Center.
After taking the first game of the match, 31-29, the Bears fell in the final three games, 30-19, 30-27 and 30-22.
Florida A&M improves to 2-5 on the season, while Mercer falls to 2-11.
The Bears fell behind early in the first game as the Lady Rattlers took the first four points of the set.
Mercer battled to get within two at the 10-8 mark when FAMU went on a 9-2 run to take a firm lead.
A kill by Julie Darty sparked a 5-1 run for the Bears, narrowing the Lady Rattler lead to four points.
FAMU answered with a 7-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 25-16.
Drennan Dexheimer notched a kill as the Bears scored seven of the next nine points to put the game at 27-23.
Florida A&M head coach Tony Trifonov called a timeout to regroup his team and the Lady Rattlers came out of the break to score the next two points and put FAMU at game point, 29-23.
The Bears did not give up, reeling off the next eight points to take the come-back win, 31-29.
In the second game, Mercer took the first point on a kill by Julie Darty, but Florida A&M scored the next nine points to jump out to an early 9-1 lead.
The Bears battled back, getting within four points of the Lady Rattlers at the 13-9 mark but back-to-back kills and errors by Mercer once again put FAMU up by eight, 17-9.
Mercer fought to the end but was unable to catch up to the early deficit, falling 20-19 in the game.
Florida A&M took an 11-5 lead in the third game and held on to its lead to the 28-23 mark.
After a timeout called by Mercer head coach Noelle Hughes, the Bears scored four consecutive points to get within one of the Lady Rattlers, 28-27.
FAMU grabbed the final two points to take a 30-27 win in the set.
Mercer fell behind 14-7 in the final game of the match when freshman Erica Vrvilo notched four kills to lead the Bears on a 6-2 run and narrow the Lady Rattlers' lead to three points, 16-13.
The teams battled evenly to 20-17 when Florida A&M scored three straight points to widen its lead once again.
The Lady Rattlers maintained their lead, taking the game, 30-22.
"After being in such a huge deficit in the first game, we fought back to take a great win, but we didn’t control the game on our side for the remainder of the match and committed too many unforced errors, making it easy for FAMU to win," said Hughes.
The Lady Rattlers (2-5) were senior led by Iva Lakic with 27 kills, followed by freshman Jovana Blazeski with 16. Sophomore Zaira Manzo led the team in assists and digs with 52 and 10.
The Lady Rattlers are scheduled to face the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL on September 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET and Bethune Cookman University on September 26 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Gaither Gym in Tallahassee, FL.
After taking the first game of the match, 31-29, the Bears fell in the final three games, 30-19, 30-27 and 30-22.
Florida A&M improves to 2-5 on the season, while Mercer falls to 2-11.
The Bears fell behind early in the first game as the Lady Rattlers took the first four points of the set.
Mercer battled to get within two at the 10-8 mark when FAMU went on a 9-2 run to take a firm lead.
A kill by Julie Darty sparked a 5-1 run for the Bears, narrowing the Lady Rattler lead to four points.
FAMU answered with a 7-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 25-16.
Drennan Dexheimer notched a kill as the Bears scored seven of the next nine points to put the game at 27-23.
Florida A&M head coach Tony Trifonov called a timeout to regroup his team and the Lady Rattlers came out of the break to score the next two points and put FAMU at game point, 29-23.
The Bears did not give up, reeling off the next eight points to take the come-back win, 31-29.
In the second game, Mercer took the first point on a kill by Julie Darty, but Florida A&M scored the next nine points to jump out to an early 9-1 lead.
The Bears battled back, getting within four points of the Lady Rattlers at the 13-9 mark but back-to-back kills and errors by Mercer once again put FAMU up by eight, 17-9.
Mercer fought to the end but was unable to catch up to the early deficit, falling 20-19 in the game.
Florida A&M took an 11-5 lead in the third game and held on to its lead to the 28-23 mark.
After a timeout called by Mercer head coach Noelle Hughes, the Bears scored four consecutive points to get within one of the Lady Rattlers, 28-27.
FAMU grabbed the final two points to take a 30-27 win in the set.
Mercer fell behind 14-7 in the final game of the match when freshman Erica Vrvilo notched four kills to lead the Bears on a 6-2 run and narrow the Lady Rattlers' lead to three points, 16-13.
The teams battled evenly to 20-17 when Florida A&M scored three straight points to widen its lead once again.
The Lady Rattlers maintained their lead, taking the game, 30-22.
"After being in such a huge deficit in the first game, we fought back to take a great win, but we didn’t control the game on our side for the remainder of the match and committed too many unforced errors, making it easy for FAMU to win," said Hughes.
The Lady Rattlers (2-5) were senior led by Iva Lakic with 27 kills, followed by freshman Jovana Blazeski with 16. Sophomore Zaira Manzo led the team in assists and digs with 52 and 10.
The Lady Rattlers are scheduled to face the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL on September 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET and Bethune Cookman University on September 26 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Gaither Gym in Tallahassee, FL.
-Contributed by Mercer Media Relations and FAMU Sports Information
