Volleyball Suffers ECC Loss to Powerhouse Dowling
Box Score OAKDALE, N.Y. (Oct. 13, 2011) – On Thursday night the Mercy College volleyball team traveled to Dowling College looking to knock off the East Coast Conference leader for a third straight ECC victory. It was not meant to be, however, as the Golden Lions swept the Mavericks in three sets, 25-15, 25-11 and 25-14,to remain unbeaten in conference play this season.
Dowling improves its record to 17-3 overall and 7-0 in the ECC, while Mercy drops to 7-15, 2-4. The Mavericks stand in sixth place in the ECC, a half game out of fourth.
Mercy came out ready to duel and played well through much of the first set, but an eight-point Dowling run gave the Golden Lions the advantage and they carried it through the rest of the match, posting two six-point runs in the second set and rattling off the first eight points of the third set to lock the match up.
Dowling displayed brutal efficiency in contrast to the Mavericks' inconsistent offense, posting an incredible .412 hitting percentage against Mercy's .047.
Junior outside hitter Bethany Shepard (Lakewood, Colo.) led the match with 18 kills and completed the double-double with 10 digs, relegating freshman hitter Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev.) to a rare second-ranked finish with 10 kills. Graduate student setter Maja Potpara (Pljevlja, Montenegro) made 30 assists for the Golden Lions while freshman setter McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz.) led the Mavericks with 10 as well as a team-high six digs.
Head Coach Alan Clements and the Mavericks will attempt to refine their game this weekend as they travel to Worcester, Mass. for a tri-match with Saint Anselm College and Assumption College. The Mavericks will face the Hawks (5-11) at 2:00 p.m. looking to avenge two five-set losses earlier in the season before taking on the Greyhounds (5-15) at 4:00 p.m. Both games can be viewed via LiveStats on the volleyball team schedule page at www.mercyathletics.com.
