White Posts 15th Double Digit Kill Effort Versus ECC Foe Roberts Wesleyan
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 12, 2013) – Junior Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev. / Douglas) smacked 18 kills on a .412 hitting percentage hosted East Coast Conference foe Roberts Wesleyan College in a five-set thriller, falling 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Mercy's record now stands at 8-9 overall and 1-5 in the ECC, while Roberts Wesleyan improves to 5-8 (1-5).
The Redhawks started off strong as they took an early 4-2 lead in the first set and quickly stretched it out to 8-4. With the Mavericks still trailing by four at 13-9, however, senior Nicole Pepe (East Meadow, N.Y. / East Meadow) took over the serve and ran off 10 straight points, with the final three coming via service aces. Roberts Wesleyan rallied late to pull back within one at 23-24, but senior Nicolette Gebhardt (Bloomingburg, N.Y. / Pine Bush) closed out the set with a kill to give Mercy the 25-23 victory and 1-0 lead in the match.
The Redhawks bounced back immediately in the second set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and extending it throughout to a 25-10 victory to even the match. After a fairly even first set, Roberts Wesleyan hit a dominant .440 in contrast to Mercy's -.167 on just two kills.
Mercy regained the edge as the third set got underway, starting out with a 6-2 lead before Roberts Wesleyan fought back to lead 11-10. After another pair of lead changes, the Mavericks took control once and for all thanks to another pair of service aces from Pepe that put the hosts up, 16-14. Although Roberts Wesleyan would unleash another last-gasp rally to save five set points, the Mavericks finally pulled out the 25-23 victory on another clutch Pepe kill. 
The Redhawks scored the first four points of the fourth set and never looked back, leading throughout and posting the final seven points to seal the 25-15 win and even the match again, forcing a deciding fifth set. Roberts Wesleyan overcame an early 2-1 deficit to start the fifth set, scoring five straight points to go up 10-4 and holding on for the 15-8 victory to clinch the match.
White's 18 kills led the Mavericks while Gebhardt added her second consecutive double-digit kill game with 13 on a respectable .243 hitting percentage. Seniors Mallorie Hopkins (Commerce, Calif. / Pasadena City College) and Kirstie Zubiate (Salinas, Calif. / North Monterey County) recorded nine digs apiece and junior Sonia Morales (San Fernando, Calif. / Discovery Prep) made four total blocks (two solo). Junior McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz. / Seton Catholic Prep) made 38 assists, bringing her just 16 shy of 2,000 for her career, while Pepe set a career record with her seven service aces.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks will return to action at ECC rival Dowling College (12-8, 3-3) on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
