White's Double-Double Leads Volleyball to Victory Over ECC Foe Daemen
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 25, 2014) – Senior Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas) notched her 13th double-double of the season by way of a match-high 26 kills and 13 digs as the Mercy College volleyball team defeated East Coast Conference (ECC) foe Daemen College, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Mercy Gymnasium for their first conference win of the year.
The Mavericks improve to 5-19 overall and 1-10 in ECC play, while the Wildcats fall to 1-24 overall and 1-11 in conference matchups.
White, who came in ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in kills and kills per set, would not disappoint the home crowd as she hit an impressive .400 for a Mercy team that hit a season-best .324 on the day and had a match-high five total blocks to lead a Mavericks attack that ended the match with a dazzling 20 total blocks.
The visitors took control early in the opening set, taking a 13-5 lead midway through the set and would hold a 24-19 advantage late in the frame. However, the Mavericks after starting a little sluggish began to show signs of life late in the set, putting up three unanswered to make it 24-22 before Daemen finished off the period with a kill.
The momentum gained from Mercy's late run in the first set would carry over to the next frame and the rest of the contest. The Mavericks took an early 4-3 lead and turned it into a 12-3 advantage, scoring eight in a row to distance themselves from the guests and tie the match up at 1-1. White led Mercy with seven kills in the frame and freshmen Destinee Simpson (Westhampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) and Sa'Naya Johnson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) each contributed three kills to help get the Mavericks back in the match.
The third set saw White dominate as she slammed down nine kills in the frame, dug up six balls and added two blocks. Mercy led for most of the set, building their largest lead of five, 16-11, before the visitors from Amherst clawed its way back to make it 18-17 in favor of the home team. The Mavericks regrouped and rattled off seven straight points off the serve of sophomore Floriana Rraci (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) to close out the set and go up 2-1.
White stepped up for her team in the final set, putting down nine kills again as Mercy led for most of the set, but was unable to distance themselves from the Wildcats until the end when White slammed home her final kill of the day and Daemen committed an attack error to take a 23-23 tie and turn it into a huge four-set win victory for the Mavericks.
Simpson ended the contest with a career-high 10 kills and hit .389, while ending with four total blocks. Senior McKenna Ronan (Chandler, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep) helped lead the potent Mercy attack that put down 51 kills with her match-high 42 assists. Johnson added six kills on a strong .385 hitting percentage and junior Abi Foti (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) and senior Sonia Morales (San Fernando, Calif./Discovery Prep (L.A. Mission College)) contributed four and three kills, respectively to the Mavericks cause.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks have a short turnaround as they host ECC opponent Roberts Wesleyan College and Dominican College for a tri-match tomorrow beginning at 12 p.m.
