Peyton Olson Smacks 20 Kills as Volleyball Opens up 2015 Against Stonehill and Le Moyne
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Sept. 5, 2015) – Freshman Peyton Olson (Albany, Ore./West Albany) smacked 20 kills and had 14 digs in her Mavericks debut as the Mercy College volleyball team opened its 2015 campaign with a 3-0 (16-25, 27-29, 24-26) loss to Stonehill College and a 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 19-25) setback to Le Moyne College at the Georgian Court Invitational on Saturday.
The Mavericks begin the season 0-2, while the Skyhawks and Dolphins both improved to 1-0 with their victories.
Teaming up with Olson was sophomore Sa'Naya Johnson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) who ended the day with 12 kills and had a strong .345 hitting percentage. Freshman Brianna Heffernan (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) had a strong debut for the Mavericks, finishing with nine kills, 18 digs and seven blocks. Junior Michelle Luna (Costa Mesa, Calif./Costa Mesa) concluded the day with 28 assists and freshman Toni Parente (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) dished out 17 assists in her debut. Junior Floriana Rraci (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) led things defensively finishing with 25 digs over the course of the two contests.
Leading Stonehill was Katherine Delanty who had a team-high eight kills and pacing Le Moyne was Anna Hafoka who finished with a team-high seven kills.
Stonehill 3, Mercy 0
The Skyhawks stormed out of the gates early despite the 10 a.m. start and took the opening set 25-16. The Mavericks would take a 21-17 lead in the second set and held a late 22-20 advantage in the frame, but Stonehill clawed its way back and took the set in extra points. Mercy jumped out to a 16-15 margin in the third set before it was all tied up at 23-23. The Skyhawks scored three of the next four points to take the set and the victory.
Mercy finished the match with 24 kills led by Olson who slammed home a match-high 12 kills in her first collegiate match. The freshman nearly missed recording a double-double, finishing two digs shy. Johnson ended up with five kills and hit an impressive .333, while Rraci ended the match with 13 digs. Luna produced a team-high 13 assists and Parente dished out 10 of her own.
Le Moyne 3, Mercy 0
The second match of the day saw Le Moyne get off to a 10-8 lead in the opening set and build a 23-19 advantage before finishing it off and taking a 1-0 lead. The Dolphins got off to a quick start in the second frame and went up 20-13 before narrowly closing it out after the Mavericks made a run. The final set saw Le Moyne start on a 22-15 run and hold on for the victory.
Olson once again led the Mercy attack, finishing with a match-high eight kills to go along with six digs. Rraci and Heffernan each produced 12 digs with Heffernan also putting down five kills. Johnson ended up with seven kills on efficient .353 hitting and had five digs. Luna helped orchestrate the offense with a team-high 15 assists.
Head Coach Kelly Wengerter and the Mavericks will look to bounce back tomorrow, Sunday, September 6th as they play Caldwell at 12 p.m. before taking on host Georgian Court at 2 p.m. in the finale of the Invitational.
