PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sept. 21, 2019) – Led by a team-high 22 kills on the day from senior Imani DeBose (Carson, Calif./The College of New Rochelle), the Mercy College volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (19-25, 18-25, 13-25) decision to Millersville University before earning a 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 24-26, 25-15) victory over University of the Sciences on Saturday afternoon at USciences.
The Mavericks (4-7) snap a five-match losing streak with the win over the Devils (3-7). The Marauders (10-3) defeated USciences in three sets in the other match of the day.
Match 1: Millersville 3, Mercy 0
The opening set saw the teams tied at 13-13 before back-to-back points by Mercy gave them a 15-13 lead. Millersville would end the set on a 12-4 run to take the first set, 25-19.
The Marauders took an 11-6 lead in set two before three straight Maverick points made it 11-9. Millersville responded with a 9-2 run to build a 20-11 lead. Mercy later made it 22-17 on a kill by Natalia Garcia (Vega Baja, P.R./Turabo University), but the Marauders scored three of the final four points to take a 2-0 lead.
Mercy took a 5-2 lead in set three following a Loreto Nunez Casal (Pontevedra, Spain/Sagrado Corazon De Jesus)kill. The Mavericks later led 6-4 before Millersville rattled off four straight points to take an 8-6 lead. Mercy tied the score up at 8-8 after a DeBose kill, but the Marauders came back on an 8-0 run to take a 16-8 lead. Millersville led the rest of the way and earned the win in three sets.
DeBose had a team-high-tying seven kills and Nunez Casal had seven kills. Garcia had 19 assists and ten digs and sophomore Selma Vulic (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had 12 digs. Junior Adriana Lopez-Soto (Gurabo, P.R./Notre Dame HS) had ten digs.
Millersville was led by Lindsey Blevins who had a match-high 12 kills and 16 digs.
Mercy hit .083 with 28 kills and 50 digs. Millersville hit .304 with 46 kills and 57 digs.
Match 2: Mercy 3, USciences 1
Mercy jumped out to an 11-6 lead in set one following a Vulic ace. The Devils made it 11-8 before the Mavericks stormed back with eight straight points to take a 19-8 lead. Mercy led the remainder of the set earning a 25-16 set one win.
USciences took a 12-10 lead in set two before the Mavericks battled back and took a 17-15 lead. Mercy increased the lead to 19-16 after a DeBose kill before the Devils answered with two straight points to make it 19-18. Mercy followed with three straight points of their own to take a 22-18 lead, forcing a Devil timeout. USciences got within two, 23-21, but Vulic and NeKendra Liddie (Gardena, Calif./The College of New Rochelle) ended the set with kills to give Mercy a 25-21 set two win.
Mercy held a 10-9 lead in set three before USciences ensued with five consecutive points to take a 14-10 lead. The Mavericks came right back on a 5-0 run of their own to take a 15-14 lead after a Nunez Casal kill. Mercy took a 22-20 lead late in the set, but the Devils continued to fight and scored three of the next four points to tie the set up at 23-23. Mercy regained the lead at 24-23 after a bad set. However, the Devils closed the set with three straight points to take the third set, 26-24.
The Devils scored the first two points of the fourth set and the score was tied at 4-4 before Mercy rattled off seven straight points to build an 11-4 lead. The Mavericks later increased the lead to 15-5 on a Liddie kill and cruised the rest of the way in securing the fourth set, 25-15, and match.
DeBose had a match-high 15 kills and Nunez Casal had 12 kills. Garcia had 33 assists, 12 digs and five kills and Lopez-Soto had a match-high 20 digs. Sophomore Sophia Flanders (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) and senior Jessica Berka (Hicksville, N.Y./St. Dominic) each added 11 digs and Vulic had nine kills.
USciences was led by Tori Wright who had a team-high 14 kills.
Mercy hit .207 with 51 kills and 69 digs. USciences hit .125 with 44 kills and 63 digs.
Head Coach Georgia Efthalitsides and the Mavericks resume action on Thursday, September 26th when they host Bridgeport at 7 p.m.
