Career Nights from Olson and Runge Lead Volleyball to Five-Set Victory Over Molloy
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2015) – Powered by a career-high-tying 23 kills from freshman Peyton Olson (Albany, Ore./West Albany) and a double-double from freshman Brooke Runge (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Demarest), the Mercy College volleyball team earned an exciting, 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-13) comeback victory over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference (ECC) battle on Thursday night at Mercy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (7-24, 2-12 ECC) pick up their second ECC win at home this year and snap a five-match losing skid, while the Lions (6-21, 4-10 ECC) have now dropped two in a row.
Olson ended the night hitting an efficient .262 and brought up eight digs. Runge concluded the evening with 31 assists, 17 digs and seven kills, while sophomore Sa'Naya Johnson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) chipped in 12 kills.
Jeanne Reinis led Molloy with a double-double of 20 kills and 15 digs.
Mercy, playing in front of an energized crowd inside Mercy Gymnasium, got off to a strong start in the opening set as they jumped out to an 18-14 lead. The visitors fought back with three unanswered to make it 18-17 and later evened the set up on four occasions, but an Olson kill and ace ended the frame to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.
After dropping the opening set, Molloy responded in the second set by opening up a 14-6 lead and did not look back as they cruised to the win to even up the match.
The Lions once again controlled the action in the third set, building a 17-8 advantage and held on to take a 2-1 lead heading to the fourth set.
Molloy headed into the fourth set with all the momentum on their side and seemed to be on their way to a victory. However, the Mavericks would not be denied as they took a 9-9 score and turned it into an 18-13 lead following another one of Olson's kills. The Lions clawed back to make it 19-17, but Mercy ensued with a 5-0 run to take a 24-17 lead. Molloy made things interesting by scoring the next four points, but an attack error by the Lions gave Mercy the set and sent things into a fifth set.
The fifth set saw Molloy start off with a 5-4 lead, but the Mavericks, aided by a packed house inside Mercy Gymnasium, fed off the energy of the crowd and responded with a 5-0 spurt to take a 9-5 edge. The Lions came back and evened the set up at 13-13 late but a service error and attack error by Molloy gave Mercy the set and a thrilling comeback victory.
The Mavericks hit .191 on the night with 50 kills and 73 digs, while the Lions hit .211 with 56 kills and 75 digs.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks look to build off the win when they host NYIT on Monday, November 9th for Senior Night at 7 p.m.
