Mercer volleyball heads into Saturday's game against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (8-7) with a 12-3 record overall and flawless 2-0 start to Southern Conference play.
After tallying the best record for a first-year head coach at Mercer since 1996 and a runner-up finish in the SoCon standings in 2023, Chad Sutton has the Bears on pace to finish with by far their best record in years.
Mercer kicked off the season against the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the UNF Invitational in Jacksonville, FL. Skye Ekes ‘25 led the team with 17 kills, three aces and one block. Brooke Phillips ‘25 led in assists with 39 and MeMe Davis ‘28 held the match-high of 16 digs.
Phillips ranks second in the country with 45 service aces this season. Among her SoCon opponents, Phillips has more than double the number of aces than the second-placed player.
Following the UNF Invitational, the Bears continued their winning streak with wins over Rhode Island and North Florida. Phillips led the team in assists and aces in both matches. She currently ranks No. 3 in the country in aces per set.
On Sept. 4, the Bears won their home opener against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in three straight sets. Once again, Phillips recorded a team high of 36 assists while Davis led the defense with 16 digs. The team recorded a .248 hitting average compared to the Hawks’ .061.
On Sept. 7, the Bears took the three-set sweep against the Ohio University Bobcats to start the High Point Invitational. Phillips snagged the team high of 25 assists while Davis led in digs with 15; Ekes again led in kills with nine.
Their winning streak was snapped with a loss to High Point 3-1 in four sets. To finish the Invitational, the Bears topped the Kennesaw State University Owls in four sets.
The Bears continued their winning streak with wins over Elon University and the University of Southern Mississippi to start the Mercer Invitational. As usual, Phillips led the team in assists while Davis recorded the team-high digs. To round out the invitational, Mercer defeated Presbyterian 3-2 in a back-and-forth match.
Phillips continued her hot streak with 45 assists while Ekes led in kills with 16.
Following the Mercer Invitational, the Bears had their first two-game losing streak of the season at the Owls Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, FL. There, Mercer won their first game against Stetson University in straight sets, but lost to Florida Atlantic University and Illinois State University to finish the trip.
To start SoCon play, Mercer has taken on The Citadel and East Tennessee State University, winning both of those games, 3-1. They had a match against Western Carolina University postponed due to Hurricane Helene.
Mercer is the only team in the SoCon with a winning record at home, away and in neutral spaces, owning the highest overall winning percentage in the conference. In Chattanooga, they will play a team looking for their first win against a SoCon team.
Pariss Nicholson ‘26 is majoring in Journalism and minoring in Media Studies at Mercer University. She hopes to report or write for ESPN after she graduates. Outside of her studies, she likes to read and watch sports games in her room.
