ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 29, 2018) – Despite a team-high eight kills from sophomore Leilani Vazquez (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Adelphi University), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (18-25, 13-25, 21-25) decision to The College of Saint Rose on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks (2-2) fail to build off their win on Monday, while the Golden Knights (1-3) earn their first win of the season.
Vazquez also had a team-high-tying nine digs and senior Kaitlyn Partridge (Corona, Calif./Mt. San Antonio College) had seven kills. Freshman Sarah Watson (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan/Maple Creek) recorded six kills and six digs and freshman Sophia Flanders (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) dished out 22 assists and had eight digs.
Saint Rose was led by Stevie Schweitzer who had a match-high 21 kills.
The opening set of the match saw Saint Rose jump out to a 9-0 lead. The Mavericks continued to battle and cut the deficit to four, 15-11, after a Partridge kill. The Golden Knights increased the advantage to 23-16 later in the frame before back-to-back points for Mercy made it 23-18. However, Saint Rose scored the final two points of the set to take the first set, 25-18.
Mercy held a 10-9 lead in the second set after a Saint Rose attack error. The Golden Knights regrouped and finished the set on a 16-3 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Mavericks continued to play hard in the third set, taking an 11-10 lead after a Vazquez ace. Mercy later took a 19-15 lead after a kill from sophomore Nichole Rivera Maldonado (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Academia Discipulos de Cristo) and an ace from sophomore Adriana Lopez-Soto (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame HS), leading to a Saint Rose timeout. After the timeout, the Golden Knights would go on a 10-2 run to finish off the set and match.
Mercy hit .088 with 30 kills and 46 digs and Saint Rose hit .292 with 45 kills and 59 digs.
Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, September 1st when they take on American International and Chestnut Hill at Chestnut Hill starting at 2 p.m.
