OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Nov. 7, 2017) – Despite a team-high eight kills from freshman Courtney Gebhardt (Bloomingburg, N.Y./Pine Bush), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (11-25, 12-25, 19-25) decision to ECC foe NYIT on Tuesday night at Recreation Hall.

The Mavericks (7-24, 1-12 ECC) have dropped three matches in a row, while the Bears (22-7, 9-4 ECC) secure an ECC Tournament spot with the win.

Gebhardt also added two digs and hit .167, while junior Brooke Runge (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Demarest) had 16 assists. Freshman Adriana Lopez-Soto (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame HS) contributed a team-high 11 digs.

NYIT was led by Tiffany Verni who had a match-high 14 kills.

The opening set saw the Bears jump out to an 8-2 lead. Mercy battled back and cut the deficit to three, 11-8, but NYIT ended the set on a 14-3 run to secure the first set, 25-11.

The two teams were tied at 4-4 in set two before the hosts rattled off an 11-1 run to take a 15-5 lead. The Bears continued to lead throughout the set and earned a 25-12 win to take a 2-0 lead.

NYIT and Mercy were even at 3-3 until the Bears scored six points in a row to take a 9-3 lead. The Mavericks trimmed the NYIT lead to 10-7, but the home team ensued with a 7-2 run to build a 17-9 advantage. However, Mercy would not go down without a fight and clawed their way back, making it 18-17 late in the frame. It was 21-19 in favor of NYIT later in the set before the Bears sealed the set and match with four straight points.

Mercy hit -.036 with 18 kills and 31 digs, while NYIT hit .330 with 44 kills and 39 digs.

Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks conclude their season tomorrow at LIU Post at 7 p.m.