DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 18, 2019) – Despite a match-high 22 kills from senior Imani DeBose (Carson, Calif./The College of New Rochelle), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 24-26) decision to Pace University in a CODA Awareness Game on Wednesday night at the Victory Hall Sports Center.
The Mavericks (3-6) have lost four matches in a row, while the Setters (1-7) pick up their first win of the season.
DeBose had a season high in kills and had 12 digs for a double-double. Junior Adriana Lopez-Soto (Gurabo, P.R./Notre Dame HS) had a match-high 25 digs and sophomore Selma Vulic (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had nine kills and 11 digs. Junior Natalia Garcia (Vega Baja, P.R./Turabo University) ended the night with four kills, 32 assists and 11 digs.
Pace was led by Sandra Yang who had a team-high 11 kills.
The opening set saw the Mavericks take a 9-5 lead, leading to a Pace timeout. Following the Setter timeout, Mercy went on to build a 19-11 lead after a Jessica Berka (Hicksville, N.Y./St. Dominic) ace. Pace battled back and made it 24-20 before a service error by Christal Wong gave the Mavericks a 25-20 set one win.
Pace took a 9-7 lead in set two before Mercy responded with an 8-3, capped off by a Vulic kill, which gave the Mavericks a 15-12 lead. The Setters regrouped and came back and took a 20-18 lead late in the set, forcing a Mercy timeout. Pace scored four straight points following the timeout to take a 24-18 lead. Three kills in a row from DeBose made it 24-21 before a Wong kill gave the Setters set two, 25-21.
The Mavericks took a 5-3 lead in set three, but Pace answered with a 12-6 run to take a 15-11 lead. The Setters later built the lead to 23-15 before Mercy scored three unanswered points to get within 23-18. Pace scored two of the final three points to take the third set, 25-19.
The fourth set was tied at 10-10 following a DeBose kill. The Mavericks went on a 6-3 run to take a 16-13 lead, but the Setters continued to battle and went on a 6-1 to take a 19-17 lead. Pace later held a 23-20 lead, but Mercy would not go down without a fight and scored three straight points to tie the set up at 23-23. The teams traded points to make it 24-24 before Pace tallied two straight points to take the set and match.
Mercy had 42 kills, 67 digs and hit .149. Pace had 55 kills, 83 digs and hit .199.
Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, September 21st when they face Millersville and USciences at USciences starting at 1 p.m.
