Volleyball Faces NYIT and Southern Connecticut in Tri-Match
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Nov. 10, 2012) – The Mercy College volleyball team took on East Coast Conference opponent NYIT as well as Southern Connecticut University in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon.
Mercy fell in both matches to drop to 3-25 overall and 0-14 in the ECC this season. NYIT later defeated Southern Connecticut to improve to 20-8 (11-4) while the Owls finished their season 23-10.
NYIT 3, Mercy 0
The Mavericks struggled to get things going against the Bears, recording a -.111 hitting percentage over the first set while NYIT hit at a .368 clip to win, 25-11, and improved throughout the match, hitting .387 in the second set (25-16) and dominating the fifth with a .545 (25-13).
Sophomore outside hitter Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev.) led the Mavericks with 10 kills while sophomore setter McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz.) made 17 assists and junior libero Mallorie Hopkins (Commerce, Calif.) recorded eight digs.
Junior right-side hitter Katarina Sretenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) smacked 10 kills on an incredible .833 hitting percentage for the Bears, with junior outside hitter Savannah Donarski (Powell, Wyo.) adding nine on a .600 hitting percentage. Junior setter Marija Jovanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) made 30 assists while senior outside hitter Tugce Sirdas (Istanbul, Turkey) managed 10 digs.
Mercy 0, Southern Connecticut 3
The Mavericks took an early lead in the first set, going up 9-5 before the Owls rattled off 10 straight points and cruised to a 25-14 win. Southern Connecticut rode the momentum to a 10-5 lead in the second set that grew to as much as 19-11, but Mercy staged a furious rally with Ronan serving up aces all over the place and junior outside hitter Nicolette Gebhardt (Pine Bush, N.Y.) smashing four straight kills and six in an eight-point stretch to take the 20-19 lead. The Owls tied things back up but could not break away as Mercy evened the score three more times before Southern Connecticut finally managed to take the set, 26-24. The third set was tightly contested all throughout, remaining tied as late as 19-19 again before the Owls broke away to win, 25-22.
Gebhardt finished with a match-high 19 kills and just missed a double-double with eight digs while Ronan made 28 assists. Hopkins and junior defensive specialist Kirstie Zubiate (Salinas, Calif.) recorded 17 and 13 digs, respectively. Ronan set an impressive career high with eight service aces and came close to notching a rare triple-double, as she added eight digs.
Junior outside hitter Lauren McVey (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) led a trio of Owls in double-digit kills with 15 and added a team-high 17 digs to record the double-double while senior setter Kimberly Lachowicz (Mansfield, Texas) made 41 assists.
Head Coach Taneisha Cantave and the Mavericks will close out their season tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 11 as they host the conference-leading University of Bridgeport (20-4, 12-1) at 12:00 p.m.
