DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Aug. 27, 2018) – Powered by five Mavericks recording five or more kills, the Mercy College volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-12) victory over Dominican College in their home opener on Monday night at Dobbs Ferry High School.
The Mavericks (2-1) start 2-1 for the first time since 2010, while the Chargers (0-3) remain winless on the year.
Mercy was led by senior Leah Petty (Philadelphia, Pa./Science Leadership Academy) who had a match-high 11 kills on .500 hitting. Freshman Sophia Flanders (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) dished out a match-high 30 assists and had eight digs and three kills. Sophomore Leilani Vazquez (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Adelphi University) recorded eight kills and nine digs and sophomore Adriana Lopez-Soto (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame HS) had a match-high 13 digs. Freshman Sarah Watson (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan/Maple Creek) produced six kills and 12 digs.
Dominican was paced by Malia Robinson and Gabrielle Napoleon who both had six kills.
The opening set of the match saw Dominican score the set's first two points before the Mavericks battled back and took a 9-8 lead after a Petty kill. The Chargers held a 13-11 lead midway through the set but Mercy went on a 7-1 run to build an 18-14 lead, forcing a Dominican timeout. Out of the timeout, the Chargers scored two points but the Mavericks came back on a 3-1 spurt, capped off by a Vazquez ace, to put Mercy ahead, 21-17. Dominican got within, 21-19, but the Mavericks concluded the set with four straight points to take the first set, 25-19.
Mercy jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second set and built an 11-5 advantage, leading to a Dominican timeout. The Mavericks later increased the lead 21-13 after back-to-back kills from senior Kaitlyn Partridge (Corona, Calif./Mt. San Antonio College). The Chargers cut the deficit to five late in the frame, but a Petty kill ended the set and gave Mercy a 2-0 lead.
The third set saw Mercy jump out to an 11-4 lead after a Partridge kill. The Mavericks pushed the lead to 19-6 after back-to-back kills from senior Neysha Gonzalez (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico/Monroe College) and Partridge ended the match with a block to give Mercy their second win of the season.
Mercy hit .323 with 43 kills and 52 digs, while Dominican hit .101 with 26 kills and 36 digs.
Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, August 29th when they play at Saint Rose at 6 p.m.
