The Mercer University women’s volleyball team is mourning the loss of “a tremendous teammate” who died from bone cancer at 19.
The Macon, Georgia university’s volleyball team announced Monday, Sept. 29 in a social media post that sophomore Aliyah “Ali” Waldon died from bone cancer on Sunday. They asked fans to “please keep Ali’s family in your thoughts and prayers.”
“Our hearts are extremely heavy tonight as the entire Mercer community mourns the passing of Aliyah ‘Ali’ Waldon,” the team wrote. “Ali was a tremendous teammate, daughter and friend whose smile could light up Hawkins Arena. Ali brought the entire volleyball community together in her fight. She will be sorely missed.”
A native of Odessa, Fla., Waldon joined the team in 2023 and was named to the All-Southern Conference team after recording 210 points in 28 matches, according to the school.
Aliyah Waldon/Instagram
Local WMAZ reported last year that Waldon was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare but aggressive bone cancer in the femur, and sat out her entire sophomore season in 2024. The star player was back home in Florida while receiving treatment for the cancer, according to the outlet.
Waldon told WMAZ last year that she first became concerned after a nagging pain in her hip would not get better. An MRI showed that what Waldon suspected to be an injury was instead bone cancer.
“I was definitely shocked because I was just looking for a tear,” Waldon told the outlet.
Throughout the 2024 season, Mercer’s volleyball team wore shirts that said “fight” with a yellow ribbon for an “i” in support of Waldon. WMAZ reported that Waldon was able to return to the school to cheer on her teammates in person at points during the 2024 season.
Waldon’s mother Julie Rodgers provided 100 updates on her daughter’s recovery process via GoFundMe, where she also announced her death on Sunday.
GoFundMe
“Our hearts are shattered,” Waldon’s mother wrote, adding, “Ali would not want us to be sad, she was not amongst the ordinary, she was the funniest, happiest, most loving person I’ve ever known and I was blessed to be her mom!”
Rodgers said she plans to announce a celebration of life in honor of her daughter soon, as she asked others to keep Waldon’s family in their prayers.