Olson and Heffernan Help Lead Way as Volleyball Splits Tri-Match With Cheyney and Goldey-Beacom
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Box Score 2 WILMINGTON, Del. (Sept. 12, 2015) – Paced by 20 kills on the day from freshman Peyton Olson (Albany, Ore./West Albany) and 30 digs from freshman Brianna Heffernan (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip), the Mercy College volleyball team defeated Cheyney University, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-11) before falling, 3-2 (25-16, 25-18, 14-25, 17-25, 9-15) to Goldey-Beacom College at Goldey-Beacom on Saturday afternoon.
The Mavericks are now 2-5 on the year, while the Wolves fall to 0-4 and the Lightning improve to 3-3.
Olson also added 15 digs on the afternoon and Heffernan chipped in 12 kills. Junior Andrea Velasco (Whittier, Calif./Rio Hondo College) ended the afternoon with 11 kills and 12 digs, while freshman Toni Parente (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) secured double-doubles in both contests, ending the day with 44 assists and 21 digs. Sophomore Sa'Naya Johnson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) also contributed with 12 kills on the day and junior Floriana Rraci (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) added 15 digs.
Cheyney was led by Alaiya Cave who had a match-high-tying eight kills.
Pacing Goldey-Beacom was Grace McCarthy who had 15 kills and 16 digs in the five-set affair.
Mercy 3, Cheyney 0
The first set of the day saw the Mavericks get off to a strong start as they built an early 8-3 lead, capped off by a pair of junior Michelle Luna (Costa Mesa, Calif./Costa Mesa) aces. Mercy maintained a 14-9 lead midway through the frame before the Wolves clawed back and got within a point, 14-13. However, the Mavericks responded with a 9-4 run to take a 23-17 advantage and would hold on to take a 1-0 lead.
Mercy came out in the second set with the first five points of the frame and built their lead to as many as 12, cruising to a 2-0 lead.
The final set of the match saw the Mavericks hit a blistering .361 with 15 kills, jumping out to an 18-2 lead and holding on for the win.
Mercy hit a season-high .161 in the match and finished with 37 kills and 58 digs, led by Heffernan who slammed home a team-high eight kills and added a team-high 11 digs. Olson concluded the opener with seven kills and eight digs, while Parente dished out 21 assists with 10 digs.
Goldey-Beacom 3, Mercy 2
The final match of the day had the Mavericks jump out to an early 2-0 lead before the home team stormed back and took the final three sets to steal a win.
In the first set, the Mercy carried over their momentum from the opening win as they jumped out to a 20-8 lead and did not look back as they took a 1-0 advantage.
Goldey-Beacom got off to a strong start in the second stanza as they got off to a 14-10 lead before the Mavericks scored ten unanswered to build a 20-14 advantage as Olson, Johnson and Velasco each contributed kills. Mercy would close the set hitting a match-best .206 in the frame with 11 kills to build a 2-0 advantage.
The Mavericks looked to finish off the Lightning in the third set, but the home team had other ideas as they got off to a 17-7 start and took the set to force a fourth set.
The fourth set saw the two teams tied at 10-10 before Goldey-Beacom delivered a 6-1 run to take the lead back for good and set up a deciding fifth set.
With all the momentum on Goldey-Beacom's side in front of their home crowd, the Lightning opened up the deciding set with an 8-3 lead and would hold on for the comeback victory.
Olson finished the match with a team-high 13 kills and had seven digs, while Parente notched her second double-double of the day with 23 assists and 11 digs. Heffernan contributed a match-high 19 digs along with four kills to the Mavericks cause.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks return to the court on Monday, September 14th as they travel to Nyack for a 7 p.m. start time.
