ASU: Senior setter who has taken the brunt of the setting duties from the 2006 season through 2008... helped to lead the Sun Devils to their first NCAA appearance since 2002 in the 2006...will resume setter duties ...an athletic setter who is a high-energy player... was a standout prep athlete at Chandler High School... a Business major with hopes to become a Business Lawyer, Mercer has several academic accolades to her name, as she has been named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team three times as well as an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team member twice.
2008 (Junior): Led the team in setting duties for the third straight year, collecting 1,138 assists on the year for a 10.35 assists per set average...was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team (first) and to the ESPN The Magazine All-All District All-Academic Third Team as well...has a career total of 3,598 assists, which places her third in ASU career history with second place only 698 away...also collected 80 kills on the year for a .263 attack percentage, as well as adding 14 service aces to her career tally of 60 while leading the team in 2008 with a .972 serve percentage...Mercer also stepped up to play some defense as she pulled in 222 digs on the season as well as 72 total blocks at the net.
2007 (Sophomore): Helped lead the team as the main setter all season leading Margie Giordano and Sarah Reaves to stellar a offensive season...was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team (first) for the second consecutive season as well as the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII second team...had 1,277 assists on the season, good for fifth in ASU single-season records...finished sixth in the Pac-10 in assists per-game with a 12.40 average...led the team in service aces with a career-high 24 on the season...had a career-high 73 assists against Utah Valley on September 8, which is the second-highest total in ASU rally scoring history...tied her match-high of three aces against Oregon on Oct. 26...had 194 digs on the year as well as 53 total blocks.
2006 (RS Freshman): Had a phenomenal debut season coming off of a redshirt season in 2005 to take the bulk of the setting duties...was named to the All Pac-10 Freshman Team as well as named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team...played in 31 matches, starting 28 of them...had 1183 assists on the season, averaging 10.56 on the season, good for eighth all-time in ASU single-season assist totals...had a career-high 62 assists in a four-game match against Washington St. (10/20)...also claimed 22 service aces, collecting a career-high of three in four separate matches...had 174 digs on the year as well as 51 total blocks.
2005 (Freshman): Redshirt Season
High School: A 2005 graduate of Chandler High School in Chandler, Ariz... earned four varsity letter under head volleyball coach Darrin Ashment.. also played two years on the varsity basketball squad...captain of the volleyball team as a junior and senior... played club volleyball for Club Red Juniors (2002-05) and East Valley Juniors (1999-2001)... also played for the USA Volleyball/Arizona High Performance team in 2002... was part of six teams that were Arizona Region Champions on the club circuit... participated in the Club Nationals in 1999, 2001 and 2005 and the Open Nationals in 2002... as a freshman, earned honorable mention All-Region honors... named All-Region second team as a sophomore... was an All-State second-team selection, All-Region first-team and named team MVP as a junior... named All-City MVP, All-State, All-Region and repeated as team MVP as a senior... named an AIA Scholar Athlete and received several scholar-athlete awards and the Superintendent's Citizenship Award.
Personal: Majoring in Business Management, expecting to graduate in December of 2008 with hopes to become a Business Lawyer... full name is Marina Katherine Mercer... parents are Tom and Kathy Mercer of Chandler, Ariz... has one older sister (Laura)... her grandfather played basketball at St. Johns University, and is also related to Sam Bradford on the Oklahoma Sooner Football team...also enjoys playing basketball and golf... was an honor student in high school... born January 19, 1987 in Mesa, Ariz.
Getting to know Marina Mercer:
The best part about this year's ASU Volleyball team will be...visiting the very interesting state of New Hampshire
One word to describe Coach Watson...Austrailian
If I could have lunch with anyone, it would be...Spencer Davis
The most interesting thing I did this summer was...the 4th of July weekend at the Prescott Rodeo
My favorite music artist is...Kenny Chesney
If I could live anywhere, I would live on a boat in Santa Barbra
My favorite course in college is... Legal, Ethics, and Regulatory Issues in Business
My most prized possession is...my digital camera. It lives in my purse, I never leave home without it.
My favorite restaurant is...Chalos Casa Reynoso
The best place I traveled to this summer was Cabo!
Something most people don't know about me is...I am obsessed with the Food Network
My favorite pro team is...the Phoenix Suns
Before every match I...read a new text message from my mom that usually says something like, "Good Luck. I love you. GO DEVILS!"
My superstitions include...never feeling how cold the water is before I jump in the lake
My strengths are... making "To-Do" Lists and being super productive within a relatively short amounts of time
My weaknesses are...Mexican Food