Mercy Drops First Conference Matchup Against NYIT
Box Score BOXSCORE – Mercy vs. NYIT
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 27, 2011) – On Tuesday night, the Mercy College volleyball team hosted its first conference game of the season, against NYIT (4-5 overall, 1-1 in conference). The Bears jumped out to early leads before having to withstand rallies from the Mavericks in each set, but pulled away by scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 in the three-set victory.
Mercy drops to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in the conference while NYIT improves to 5-5 overall, 2-1 in the ECC.
Squaring off were Mercy's freshman outside hitter Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev.) and NYIT's sophomore outside hitter Shelby Cable (DeSoto, Mo.), ranked 13th and 11th in Division II in kills per set, respectively. Neither matched her pace in the match, with each registering just 11 as the only players to break into double digits, but the Bears came away victors thanks to superior defense and the East Coast Conference's leading hitting percentage. White edged out Cable overall for the night, however, scoring 12.5 points to Cable's 12.0.
Senior setter Damla Albayrak (Istanbul, Turkey) assisted on 32 of the Bears' 38 kills while three Bears totaled nine digs apiece. Sophomore outside hitter Nicolette Gebhardt (Middleton, N.Y.) bounced bounce from a rough week with nine kills and freshman setters McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz.) and Michala Askew (Ringgold, Ga.) each made 12 assists as the Mavericks ran their offense effectively (every kill was on an assist). Askew and freshman libero Ericka Kane (Glendale, Ariz.) tied for the match lead with nine digs each.
Head Coach Alan Clements and the Mavericks will continue conference play as they host the University of Bridgeport (6-1, 1-0) on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
