DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Aug. 22, 2018) – The Mercy College volleyball team begins their 2018 season on Thursday, August 23rd at East Stroudsburg University facing Bloomfield and East Stroudsburg starting at 1 p.m. The Mavericks look to continue their improvement and make a push for an ECC Tournament spot under third-year Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides.
Schedule
Efthalitsides will look to eight returners and a solid five-member recruiting class to lead the Mavericks to the ECC Tournament.
"This season we hope to be more dominant and effective. This season we are pushing to have a great offensive line, we have some good height and a lot of power. We hope to progressively improve our offense throughout the season and remain dominant in the conference when it comes to our defensive abilities. Each day we work hard to be a better team than we were the day before. Starting with basics during practice every day to perfect them, because even the little things matter. We are seen as the underdogs in our conference and we push hard every day to change that. This season will be a brand new start for us. We are ready for some good, hard competition this season and eager to see how our ladies will perform," stated Efthalitsides.
The cast of returners is led by senior captain Brooke Runge who led the team with 592 assists in 2017 and has 1,491 for her career in 69 matches. The senior also recorded 187 digs and 59 kills in 27 matches last season. Also returning is senior Kaitlyn Partridge who was third on the team with 194 kills and led the team with a .205 hitting percentage. The senior also ranked among the conference's leaders in blocks with 67 and will look to improve upon those numbers in her final season as a Maverick. Senior Neysha Gonzalez also returns after appearing in 31 matches last season. Gonzalez ranked among the ECC leaders in digs last season with 356 and digs per set with 3.42.
Also looking to contribute will be sophomore Adriana Lopez-Soto who had a strong freshman campaign, recording 258 digs and 120 assists in 32 matches. Senior Leah Petty returns for her final season as a Maverick after posting 56 kills and 16 blocks last season. Sophomore Nichole Rivera Maldonado looks to build off a solid freshman campaign after recording 60 kills and 20 blocks in 16 matches. Also returning for Efthalitsides are juniors Jessica Berka and Melissa Lamson-Lindsey who combined for 18 kills, 101 assists and 96 digs last season.
Leading the newcomers is sophomore Leilani Vazquez who transferred in from Adelphi University after one season as a Panther. The sophomore was fourth on Adelphi last season with 152 kills and recorded 178 digs in 23 matches. Also looking to make an impact are transfers Natalia Garcia and Ciara Rosado. Garcia transfers in from Turabo University while Rosado is a transfer from DeSales University.
Freshmen Sophia Flanders and Sarah Watson will also look to make an impact in their rookie seasons. Flanders was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection at Hamden High School and Watson went to Provincials while at Maple Creek Composite School.
