DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 10, 2021) – Powered by a double-double from junior Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, P.R./Monroe College) and a match-high 13 kills from senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado (Bayamon, P.R./Concordia College), the Mercy College volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-22) win over ECC foe D'Youville College on Sunday afternoon at Victory Hall Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (8-8, 4-1 ECC) get back to .500 on the year and continue their best ECC start since 2005. The Saints (2-13, 1-4 ECC) fall to Mercy in their first-ever meeting against the Mavericks.
Gonzalez had a match-high 31 assists and a team-high 13 digs. Rivera Maldonado had a match-high 13 kills with four digs. Junior Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) had nine kills and 10 digs and junior Stéphanie Lankhorst (Apeldoorn, Netherlands Koninklijke Scholengemeenschap Apeldoorn) had seven kills and six digs. Sophomore Jessica Angounou (Phoenix, Ariz./Betty H. Fairfax) had a career-high five kills and senior Selma Vulic (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had 10 digs.
D'Youville was led by Eve Musielak who had a team-high 10 kills.
Mercy held an 11-8 lead to start set one before a service error gave a point to the Saints to make it 11-9. The Mavericks rattled off six straight points, capped off by a Rivera Maldonado kill, to make it 17-9. D'Youville cut the deficit to six, 19-13, but Mercy answered with three straight points to build a 22-13 lead. The Saints stormed back on a 9-1 run to cut the Mavericks lead to just one, 23-22, forcing a Mercy timeout. Out of the timeout, an attack error by the Saints and an Angounou kill gave Mercy the opening set, 25-22.
The score was tied at 7-7 in set two before Mercy went on a 12-4 run to take a 19-11 lead after another Rivera Maldonado kill. D'Youville scored a point after a timeout to make it 19-12, but Mercy closed out the set on a 6-2 run to take the second set, 25-14.
The Saints took an early 4-2 lead in set three, but Mercy ensued with six straight points to take an 8-4 lead. D'Youville later got within 12-9, but the Mavericks tallied three straight points to make it 15-9. The Saints followed with a 7-3 run to get within two, 18-16. However, Mercy went on a 5-2 spurt to increase the lead to five, 23-18. D'Youville scored four unanswered points to make it 23-22 in favor of Mercy. Following a Maverick timeout, back-to-back kills from Schneid and Angounou gave Mercy the set and match.
Mercy had 40 kills, 57 digs, 35 assists, five blocks, four aces and hit .215. D'Youville had 31 kills, 56 digs, 30 assists, three blocks, two aces and hit .085.
Head Coach Gary Preston Jr. and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, October 12th when they play at Southern Connecticut State at 7 p.m.
