DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 9, 2019) – Powered by two double-doubles on the day from junior Natalia Garcia (Vega Baja, P.R./Turabo University), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (27-29, 25-19, 17-25, 25-27) decision to Southern New Hampshire University before earning a 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 27-29, 25-22, 15-12) victory over Wilmington University on Saturday afternoon.
The Mavericks (9-14) have won two of their last three matches, while the Penmen (10-8) defeated the Wildcats (15-9) in four sets in the other match of the day.
Match 1: Southern N.H. 3, Mercy 1
The opening set saw the Mavericks take a 15-12 lead, forcing a Southern New Hampshire timeout. Following the timeout, the Penmen battled back and took a 20-19 lead, leading to a Mercy timeout. The Mavericks followed with a 5-2 run to take a 24-22 lead with set point. Southern New Hampshire stormed back with three straight points to take a set point of their own at 25-24. A Loreto Nunez Casal (Pontevedra, Spain/Sagrado Corazon De Jesus) kill gave the Mavericks a 26-25 lead and set point, but the Penmen ensued with two straight points to take a 27-26 lead. A service error made it 27-27 before back-to-back kills gave the set to Southern New Hampshire.
Mercy jumped out to another 15-12 lead in set two before the guests went on a 4-2 run to cut the deficit to one, 17-16. The Mavericks answered by increasing the lead to 22-19 after an Adriana Lopez-Soto (Gurabo, P.R./Notre Dame HS) kill and finished off the set with three more points to take the second set, 25-19.
Southern New Hampshire took a 12-6 lead in set three before Mercy answered back on a 5-1 run to cut the Penmen lead to two, 13-11. After a Southern New Hampshire timeout, the Penmen scored two straight points and led the rest of the set to earn a 25-17 victory.
The Penmen got off to a 16-11 lead in set four before the Mavericks went on an 11-3 run to take a 22-19 lead late in the set. Southern New Hampshire followed with a 6-2 spurt to take a 25-24 lead before an Imani DeBose (Carson, Calif./The College of New Rochelle) kill tied the set up at 25-25. The visitors closed the set out with two straight points to secure the match in four sets.
DeBose had a team-high 12 kills and Nunez Casal had 11 kills and 11 digs. Lopez-Soto had a team-high 28 digs and Garcia had 35 assists, 19 digs and seven kills.
Southern New Hampshire was led by Juliana Pacini who had a match-high 17 kills.
Match 2: Mercy 3, Wilmington 2
The Wildcats took a 17-13 lead in set one, leading to a Mercy timeout. Following the timeout, the Mavericks clawed their way back and tied the set up at 23-23 after a Wilmington attack error. A kill and an ace gave the Wildcats a 25-23 win in set one.
Mercy jumped out to a 14-11 lead in set two following a DeBose kill. The Mavericks later increased the lead to 22-14 after a Selma Vulic (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) kill before the Wildcats cut the deficit to two, 24-22, late in the set. DeBose followed with a kill to give the Mavericks a 25-22 win in set two to even up the match at 1-1.
The Mavericks held a 16-13 lead in set three after a Nunez Casal kill. The visitors responded with an 8-1 run to take a 21-17 lead. Mercy followed with a 5-0 run, capped off by a Garcia kill, to take a 22-21 lead. The teams were later tied at 24-24 before a Wilmington attack error gave Mercy a 25-24 lead and set point. Wilmington scored two straight to take a 26-25 lead and later held a 27-26 lead before a DeBose kill tied the set up at 27-27. The Wildcats scored two straight points after a Mercy timeout to take the set, 29-27.
Mercy took a 15-12 lead in set four and later increased the lead to five, 23-18, after a Wilmington attack error. The Wildcats responded with a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to two, 24-22, but a NeKendra Liddie (Gardena, Calif./The College of New Rochelle) kill gave the Mavericks the set and tied the match up at 2-2.
The Mavericks took an 8-2 lead in set five, forcing a Wilmington timeout. The Wildcats cut the Mercy lead to three, 10-7, but three straight points, capped off by a Garcia kill, gave the Mavericks a 13-7 lead. Wilmington had one last run in them and followed with five straight points to make it 13-12. A kill from Liddie and an ace from Lopez-Soto gave the set and match to Mercy.
Nunez Casal had a match-high 20 kills with 11 digs and DeBose had 17 kills and 17 digs. Garcia had 51 assists, 21 digs and six kills. Lopez-Soto had 20 digs and Vulic had eight kills and 15 digs.
Wilmington was led by Mandy Behiels who had a team-high 19 kills.
Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks resume action on Thursday, October 24th when they play at Bridgeport at 7 p.m.
