DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 14, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team hosts American International on Friday, October 15th at 6 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Friday, October 15th 6 p.m.
Records: Mercy (8-10), American International (14-6)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. AIC
Mercy earned a 3-2 victory over AIC on September 28, 2019.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a four-set loss to Bridgeport on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by junior Larissa Schneid who had a match-high 19 kills. Junior Yarianne Gonzalez had a match-high 44 assists and 16 digs and senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado had a double-double. Gonzalez has been named ECC Setter of the Week once, junior Larissa Schneid has been named to the ECC Honor Roll six times and senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado has been named to the ECC Honor Roll three times. Senior Tynesha Adams was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week last Monday and has been named to the Honor Roll once. Schneid leads the team with 205 kills and 3.15 kills per set. The junior is also second on the team in digs with 200. Adams leads the team with 39 blocks and is third with 124 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 171 kills and is fifth with 130 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 585 assists with a team-high 218 digs. Gonzalez ranks second in the ECC in assists per set (9.00). Senior Sophia Flanders ranks third on the team in digs with 197 and senior Selma Vulic has 140 digs. Mercy as a team is second in the ECC in digs per set (16.5) and third in service aces per set (1.86).
The Mavericks went 14-18 in 2019 and made their first ECC Championship appearance since 2008. Mercy also finished .500 or better in ECC play for the first time since 2005. The Mavericks have been picked fourth in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll and first-year Head Coach Gary Preston Jr. has four returners from the 2019 team and has 11 student-athletes who will see their first match action as Mavericks during the 2021 season. Leading the returners are Vulic, Flanders and Stéphanie Lankhorst. Vulic was named ECC Rookie of the Week five times in 2019 and was third on the team in kills and digs. Flanders has appeared in 49 matches in two seasons and has 267 career digs. Lankhorst was named ECC Rookie of the Week once as a freshman in 2019, led the team in aces and was second in blocks. Also returning is Garay who appeared in 17 matches in 2019. Adams joined the program last year but is seeing her first game action for the Mavericks. She had 89 kills, 45 digs and 49 blocks in 2019 at Division I Bethune Cookman University. Rivera Maldonado also joined the program last year and had 72 kills and 51 digs in 2019. Gonzalez transfers in from Monroe College after playing 41 matches with 656 assists and 53 aces in 2019. Schneid joins the program from Iowa Western Community College where she played in 32 matches in two seasons with 89 kills and 56 digs. Junior Tanializ Rivera joins the Mavericks from Concordia College where she had 232 kills, 71 digs and 37 blocks. Also seeing their first match action this year are sophomores Jessica Angounou and Lizbeth Sosa and freshmen Jaelyn Ríos and Sydney Whitfield.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
AIC enters Friday's match on a seven-match winning streak and is coming off a 3-0 win over Bridgeport on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets have dropped just three sets during their seven-match winning streak. AIC was picked first in the NE10 Coaches' Poll after going 14-17 in 2019 and 4-0 in their spring 2021 schedule. AIC is led by graduate student Andrea Serra-Rosa who has a team-high 231 kills with 170 digs and 24 blocks. Freshman Paola Soto-Burgos is second on the team with 147 kills and junior Amanda Rodriguez has a team-high 296 digs. Sophomore Naomi Eckert-Rivera leads the team with 728 assists and sophomore Mai-Lani Hernandez has a team-high 55 blocks.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Tuesday, October 19th when they host Caldwell at 7 p.m.
