DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 18, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team hosts Caldwell on Tuesday, October 19th at 7 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 19th 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (8-11), Caldwell (2-13)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Caldwell
Caldwell earned a 3-0 win over Mercy on September 1, 2017.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a three-set loss to American International on Friday. The Mavericks were led by junior Larissa Schneid who had eight kills with seven digs. Senior Sophia Flanders had a match-high 15 digs and junior Yarianne Gonzalez had 29 assists, six digs and four kills. 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 on October 4th and has been named to the Honor Roll once. Schneid leads the team with 213 kills and 3.13 kills per set. The junior is also third on the team in digs with 207. Adams leads the team with 41 blocks and is third with 130 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 177 kills and is fifth with 131 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 614 assists with a team-high 224 digs. Gonzalez ranks second in the ECC in assists per set (9.03) and is second in digs (224). Schneid is third in the ECC in kills and kills per set. Senior Sophia Flanders ranks second on the team in digs with 212 and senior Selma Vulic has 142 digs. Mercy as a team is second in the ECC in digs per set (16.3) and third in service aces per set (1.81).
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 Cougars
Caldwell enters Tuesday's match on a six-match losing streak. The Cougars are coming off a four-set loss to Chestnut Hill on Friday. Caldwell was picked third in the CACC North Division Coaches' Poll after going 3-4 in the spring of 2021 and 14-19 in 2019. The Cougars are led by sophomore Reese Sherwood who has a team-high 142 kills with 117 digs and 112 assists. Sophomore Amanda Schiltz has 136 kills and a team-high 35 blocks. Senior Humiko Stormer has a team-high 259 digs and senior Samantha Ashton has a team-high 252 assists.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Thursday, October 21st when they play at Wilmington at 7 p.m.
