The Lady Bisons may have won the match, but they did not seem to be in complete sync throughout all three close sets.
“I was a little disappointed,” said Lady Bisons coach Brandon Rosenthal. “I wanted us to give a little bit more.”
The third set was the closest with the Mercer Bears coming within two before the Lady Bisons won the set 25-22.
Tonight’s game was the first of only 10 conference games this season. The format this year is much different than years past.
The Atlantic Sun schedule will look a little different this year as it will consist of a single round robin format, with each member playing each other once for the first time since 2007. In previous years teams played each other twice, once at home and once on the road.
“Every one counts that much more,” Rosenthal said. “They’re pretty motivated and they know what’s at hand.”
The Lady Bisons will have to fight their way through a tough conference to defend their title as Atlantic Sun conference champions.
“To [the team] it’s about winning a championship,” Rosenthal said.
The Lady Bisons won set one 25-16, set two 25-20 and set three 25-22. It was the A-Sun opener for both teams. The Lady Bisons are 12-5, 1-0 in the conference. Mercer is 6-13, 0-1 in the A-Sun.
The Lady Bisons will face Kennesaw St. tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Allen Arena.