Olson Finishes With Match-High 16 Kills as Volleyball Plays at ECC Foe LIU Post
Box Score BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 6, 2016) – Despite a match high 16 kills from sophomore Peyton Olson (Albany, Ore./West Albany), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 18-25) decision to ECC foe LIU Post on Thursday night at the Pratt Recreation Center.
The Mavericks (1-9, 1-4 ECC) have dropped three matches in a row, while the Pioneers (4-10, 1-4 ECC) pick up their first ECC win of the year.
Olson added nine digs and hit .297 on the night, while sophomore Toni Parente (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) contributed a match high tying 12 digs. Sophomore Brianna Heffernan (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) netted ten digs and sophomore Brooke Runge (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Demarest) ended with 18 assists and nine digs.
LIU Post was led by Danielle Valenza who had a team high 12 kills and six service aces.
The opening set of the match saw the Mavericks jump out to a 5-3 lead following a kill by Olson. The Pioneers responded with six straight points to retake the lead at 9-5. After Mercy cut the deficit to two, 11-9, after a kill from senior Andrea Velasco (Whittier, Calif./Rio Hondo College) the hosts scored five unanswered to build the lead to 16-9. The Mavericks cut the LIU Post to three, 16-13, but that would be the closest they got as the Pioneers closed the set on a 9-5 run to take a 1-0 lead.
Mercy took a 5-0 lead in set two and held a 9-8 lead before LIU Post rattled off six unanswered points to take a 14-9 lead. The Pioneers led the rest of the way, aided by a match high 18 kills in the set, to build a 2-0 advantage.
The final set of the night saw the hosts build a 4-0 lead and increase the margin to 22-9 late. Mercy responded with an 8-1 run to cut the LIU Post lead to 23-17, forcing a Pioneer timeout. Out of the timeout, LIU Post scored two of the next three points to finish off the set and match.
The Mavericks hit .093 on the night with 26 kills and 46 digs, while the Pioneers hit .219 with 39 kills and 48 digs.
Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks look to get back in the win column when they host Salem International on Saturday, October 8th at 12 p.m.
