Volleyball Falls to Molloy in Three Sets
Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Oct. 11, 2011) – On Tuesday night the Mercy College volleyball team traveled to Molloy College to take on the Lions in hopes of earning their third straight East Coast Conference win. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they could not penetrate the Lions' defense and were sent home with the loss in three sets.
Mercy's record falls to 7-14 overall (2-3 in the ECC) while Molloy improves to 6-12 (3-3).
Mercy took an early lead to open the match but Molloy bounced back quickly to take the set and closed out the second with five straight points to put the Mavericks on their heels thanks to several impressive digs from multiple Lions. Their impressive defense carried into the third set and although Mercy grabbed the early edge, the Mavericks quickly fell behind and a late rally ended in a 25-23 defeat that sealed the match.
Molloy senior outside hitter Angelica Nicalek (Valley Stream, N.Y.) led the match with 12 kills on a .556 hitting percentage as the Lions outpaced the Mavericks, .363 to .120. Freshman outside hitter Brenna White led the Mavericks with 11 kills just hours after being named ECC Co-Rookie of the Week and retaining her No. 7 ranking in the nation in kills-per-set. Sophomore outside hitter Nicolette Gebhardt (Middletown, N.Y.) was the only other player to break double digits in kills (10).
Junior setter Jennifer Koelbel (West Hempstead, N.Y.) and freshman setter Kerry MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) combined to make 33 assists for the Lions, while the Mavericks' freshman setter Michala Askew (Ringgold, Ga.) returned from injury to partner with classmate McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz.) to make 12 and 19 assists, respectively. Junior libero Stefani Koelbel (West Hempstead, N.Y.) added a match-high 11 digs.
Sophomore middle hitter Nicole Pepe (East Meadow, N.Y.) served three aces for the Mavericks and added five well-placed kills, while freshman libero Ericka Kane (Glendale, Ariz.) made 10 digs.
Head Coach Alan Clements and the Mavericks will look to bounce back at Dowling (15-3-, 5-0) on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
