Offense Powers Volleyball to 3-0 Sweep of ECC Rival Molloy
Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Oct. 24, 2013) – Senior Nicolette Gebhardt (Bloomingburg, N.Y. / Pine Bush) and junior Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev. / Douglas) led the Mercy College volleyball team with 14 kills apiece and junior McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz. / Seton Catholic Prep) notched her first double-double of the season as the Mavericks defeated East Coast Conference rival Molloy College, 3-0, on Thursday night.
Mercy improves to 9-12 overall and 2-8 in ECC play while Molloy drops to 9-13 (3-6).
The Lions jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first set on two service aces and three Mercy errors, but the Mavericks settled in to rattle off a 7-1 run to take control. Molloy briefly regained the edge on three straight points to lead 11-10, but Mercy quickly responded with a 9-2 run to stretch out to a six-point lead at 19-13. Molloy staged a last-gasp rally to pull back within three at 22-19, but Mercy closed things out, 25-20, on a characteristic clutch kill from senior Nicole Pepe (East Meadow, N.Y. / East Meadow).
The Lions looked ready to bounce back in the second set, again exploding out to a 10-0 lead on sophomore Cassie Palmer's serve as juniors Sam Berna and Shannon Appel combined for five consecutive kills. The Mavericks had other plans, however, and answered with seven straight points with freshman Floriana Rraci (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. / Walter Panas) serving. White served following a single Molloy point with another five unanswered points to put Mercy back in command, 12-11. The Lions regained the lead once more on another three straight points, but the Mavericks surged ahead on an 8-1 run to lead, 20-15. Molloy again cut the deficit to three, but Mercy held on for the 25-21 win to take the 2-0 match lead.
The third set was tightly contested through to a 10-10 tie before the Mavericks took the lead and never surrendered it, going on to win the set, 25-18, and the match.
The Mavericks' offense was firing on all cylinders, totaling 46 kills with just 14 errors over the three sets. Gebhardt led the way with a .423 hitting percentage, while Ronan made 35 assists. Senior Mallorie Hopkins (Commerce, Calif. / Pasadena City College) led a trio of Mavericks to record double-digit digs for the second consecutive game with 20, while Ronan and Rraci each recorded 10.
Appel led the Lions with 11 kills on a .320 hitting percentage while freshman Ally Stefanovski made 26 assists and freshman Lauren Williams recorded 14 digs.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks will take a break from conference play as they host Southern Connecticut State University (13-7) on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.
