MACON, Ga. (Sept. 17) - The Florida A&M Volleyball team's woes continue as they dropped their ninth match in a row as Mercer University handed the Lady Rattlers a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 22-25) loss, here Saturday afternoon at the University Center.

FAMU (0-9) had a pair of Lady Rattlers to finish in double-digit kills as Maria Ceccarelli tallied a  team high 13 kills, followed by Marija Jovanovic with 12.   The Lady Rattlers had a trio of players to finish with double-digit digs as Karol Marquez finished with 14 digs.  Behind her were Dina Gonzales and Ceccarelli as Gonzales finished with 12, followed by Ceccarelli with 10.  Gonzales led the team in assists with 42.

In a nip and tuck first set, Mercer would tie the set at 18-18 as they took advantage of a Ceccarell attack error. The Rattlers would tie the set at 19-19 on a Lady Bear service error.  FAMU would then take a 23-21 advantage on a Mercer attack error.  FAMU would win the first set on back-to-back kills by Jovanovic and Katherine Huanec.

In the second set, FAMU would tie the set at 14-14 on a Lady Bear service error.  Mercer would then go on a 4-1 run as they took an 18-15 lead, capped off by a Madison Petso and Amiee Frutchey double block.  The Lady Bears would win the set as they outscored the Lady Rattlers 7-4 to win the set 25-19.

FAMU would fall to Mercer 25-16 in the third set.

The Lady Rattlers went on a 7-2 run to cut the Lady Bears' lead to 20-19 in the fourth set.  A Jovanovic kill cut Mercer's lead to 23-22 as she scored the Lady Rattlers' final point of the set.  Mercer went on to win the set 25-22 on three straight kills.

Mercer (3-8) also had a pair of Lady Bears to finish in double-digit kills as Jennifer Katona finished with a game high 16 kills, followed by Anna Coursey with 10.   Madeline Dolny led Mercer in assists with a team high 22, followed by Monica Sanchez with 20.  Frutchey led a trio of Lady Bears in double-digit kills as she finished with a game high 19.  Behind her was Charlotte Harris with 15 digs, followed by Jamie Duffy with 10.

FAMU will return to action on Sunday, Sept 25 as they will host the University of North Florida at the Al Lawson Center in a 7:30 p.m. start.    The game will be broadcast on Rattler Vision to subscribers.