Chattanooga indoor volleyball continues to add talent to its ranks following the signing of Melbourne, Florida, native Mallory Merz, as announced by head coach Julie Torbett Thomas on Wednesday.
A standout player for Viera High School, Merz continues to round out an extremely talented freshman class for the upcoming 2024 season and beyond. While with the Hawks, Merz played primarily at the setter position where she helped lead Viera to three consecutive District 8 Championships alongside making the school’s first and second-ever Florida State Finals appearances in her sophomore and senior seasons.
“We are so excited to announce the addition of Mallory Merz to our volleyball roster,” Torbett Thomas said.
“Mallory’s commitment to our program will allow us to explore every avenue offensively and elevate the performance of every player on our roster, top to bottom.”
“She has demonstrated a toughness and resiliency that we value in our players. We see Mallory as a gem – a player with immense potential and a genuine opportunity to contribute to the future success of our program.”
Merz ended her high school career having logged 1,917 assists (6.70 assists/set), 526 digs (1.84 digs/set), 135 kills (0.47 kills/set) and 121 aces (0.42 aces/set), with her 1,917 career assists setting a new Viera High School record. In total, Merz wrapped up her high school career with a dominant record of 78-25, giving her a career win percentage of 75.7 percent.
For her efforts with the Hawks, Merz earned numerous accolades that include being a three-time First Team Space Coast Conference as well as a three-time Cape Coast Conference honoree. Merz was also given the honor of being named Offensive Player of the Year during her junior season, as awarded by Brevard Sports Network.
Merz is also a special talent in the classroom, holding an unweighted GPA of 3.8 alongside a 4.1 weighted GPA. She received a spot on the school’s Honor Roll in each of her four years at Viera High School.
Born July 13, 2006, Mallory is the daughter of Mark and Robyn Merz. Additionally, Merz has one sibling, her older sister Kelly, who plays volleyball at Florida Tech at the Division II level. Her father Mark also spent some time playing sports at the collegiate level, having played baseball for Indian River Community College (1993-95) followed by Florida Tech (1995-97). Merz intends on majoring in Business Management while attending UTC.