Three Record a Double-Double as Volleyball Plays at Pace
Box Score PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 22, 2015) – Despite double-doubles from freshmen Brianna Heffernan (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip), Peyton Olson (Albany, Ore./West Albany) and Toni Parente (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (16-25, 21-25, 25-18, 23-25) decision to Pace University in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night at the Goldstein Fitness Center.
The Mavericks (4-8) have dropped three in a row after winning four of five, while the Setters (6-8) have now won two of their last three.
Heffernan led the way with her first career double-double, finishing with a career-high 13 kills and a .317 hitting percentage to go along with 15 digs. Olson notched her fifth double-double of the year with 11 kills and ten digs, while Parente ended the contest with 14 assists and 13 digs. Junior Floriana Rraci (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) concluded the evening with a team-high 26 digs and junior Andrea Velasco (Whittier, Calif./Rio Hondo College) chipped in 11 digs.
Pace was led by Samantha Marquez who had 20 kills and 15 digs to earn a double-double of her own.
The opening frame saw the Setters get off to a good start in their home opener as they jumped out to an 8-3 lead. However, the Mavericks responded with four unanswered to get within one, 8-7, following an Olson kill. That was the closest Mercy would get in the opening set as Pace came back with a 9-1 run to take a 16-9 lead and did not look back in taking a 1-0 lead.
The Setters got off to an 11-3 start in the second set and led 14-8 halfway through the set before the Mavericks scored five in a row to make it 14-13, forcing a Pace timeout. Out of the timeout, the Setters put up five straight of their own to build the lead back up to six, 19-13, and held off a late Mercy rally to take a 2-0 advantage.
The third stanza had the two teams evened up at 11-11 before the Mavericks went on a 9-3 run to build a 20-14 lead. The Setters clawed its way back with a 4-0 run to make it 20-18, but Mercy ended the set on a 5-0 run, capped off by an Abigail Foti (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) kill, to get on the board and force a fourth set.
The Mavericks used the momentum from their third set win to take a 13-10 lead, but Pace responded with six in a row this time to retake the lead at 16-13. However, Mercy would not go down without a fight as they put up four straight to get the lead back at 17-16. The set would be all squared up at 20-20 late before the Setters tallied four of the next five points to build a 24-21 margin, needing only one point for the victory. The Mavericks looked to force a fifth set following back-to-back points which made it 24-23, but following a Pace timeout Marquez would end the match with a kill.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks will look to bounce back as they host Daemen College and Bentley University for a tri-match on Saturday, September 26th beginning at 10 a.m.
