Volleyball team searches for first win

The Florida A&M Lady Rattlers head into their seventh game of the season 0-6 and hungry for a win against Mercer Bears (2-8) of Macon, Ga., Sept. 14, 2010 in the Al Lawson Center.

The Lady Rattlers must find a way to win without their middle blocker, Pamela Barrera, who went down earlier last week with an undisclosed injury.

“We lost our middle blocker in Wednesday’s practice to an injury so we have to make some adjustments or somebody else might have to play that position,” head coach Tony Trifonov.

The team is still confident that it can get the job done and put a win in the books next game.

“I feel like Mercer will give us a chance to focus on running a faster and productive offense, which allows us to keep up with our defense,” outside hitter Bianca Rucker said.

Florida A&M is looking to improve on the offensive side of the ball as well as their strength and conditioning.

“We’ve had 10 days between matches and I have been putting a lot of emphasis on conditioning and strength drills, and the girls have been working hard so hopefully it will show and give us notable results, ” Trinofov said.

This is the team’s last home game before conference play and the Clemson Classic Invitational.

“It’s really important because we haven’t had a win yet so it would boost our confidence, coming into the upcoming weekend games,” setter Jessica Bond said. ” It’s always nice to win in front of the home crowd so winning on Tuesday will put us in high spirits.”

The Lady Rattlers have never lost to Mercer, but Trifonov said no game is easy in Division I women’s volleyball.

“A loss won’t be a major setback until you get into the conference games and start losing then you have a problem,” Trifonov said.

The Lady Rattlers can end their six game losing streak with a win. The difference between 1-6 and 0-7 will be how well they perform against Mercer.