Mercer University Volleyball

A veteran coach with measured success throughout every stop of his 23-year coaching career, Steve Benson was named the 14th head coach in the 39-year history of the Mercer volleyball program on April 28, 2025. Benson, who spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Presbyterian, has coaching stops at four other collegiate institutions as well. He has compiled nearly 350 victories in 19 years as a head coach of both men’s and women’s volleyball programs. Benson mentored five all-league standouts across two seasons at the helm of the Presbyterian program, while also pacing the Blue Hose to 19 victories and two appearances in the Big South Conference Tournament. Presbyterian showcased one of the Big South Conference’s top blocking teams in each of Benson’s two seasons in Clinton, S.C., and boasted two of the league’s top hitting percentage leaders amid the 2024 campaign as well. The Blue Hose were overachievers in the classroom as well. PC sent nine student-athletes to Collegge Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District laurels across the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, while also hauling in both American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award and Team Academic Honor Roll status after posting a 3.65 team grade point average during the 2023-24 academic year. Prior to making the move to Presbyterian, Benson served seven seasons (2017-23) as the head coach of the men’s volleyball team at nearby Limestone and led the regional powerhouse to six winning seasons and nearly 100

Mercer Women's Lacrosse 2026 | vs. High Point | Big South Championship | Full Game HighlightsMercer Women's Lacrosse 2026 | vs. High Point | Big South Championship | Full Game Highlights Sunday, May 03

Mercer Women's Lacrosse 2026 | vs. High Point | Big South Championship | Full Game HighlightsMercer Women's Lacrosse 2026 | vs. High Point | Big South Championship | Full Game Highlights Sunday, May 03

Having already enjoyed success as both a student-athlete and coach at the NCAA Division II and III levels, Meg Hopkins begins her first year in 2025-26 as an assistant coach for the Bears. Hopkins joined the coaching staff in June 2025 after serving the previous two seasons in a similar role at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. A graduate transfer student-athlete for the Pioneers in 2023, Hopkins helped lead Smith to nearly 50 wins across the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, including a 31-win season as a part of the coaching staff in 2024 that culminated in the NCAA Division III Championships. Smith ranked among the nation’s top 15 teams in four statistical categories amid the magical 2024 run, including an impressive 390 service aces (2nd NCAA). The Pioneers also ranked third, nationally, with 390 kills and sixth with a .270 hitting percentage. Hopkins logged 311 assists and 168 digs across 19 matches as a freshman at Averett before transferring to Appalachian State where she participated primarily as a part of the club organization for the Mountaineers. She played in 27 matches (23 starts) as a senior at Smith, accumulating 500 assists and 184 digs as the squad’s primary setter. A native of Matthews, N.C., Hopkins earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Appalachian State in 2023, and completed her graduate work in sports and exercise at Smith in 2025.