DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 26, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team hosts Queens for Senior Day on Thursday, October 28th at 7 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Thursday, October 28th 7 p.m.

Records: Mercy (10-12, 5-2 ECC), Queens (3-15, 2-6 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. Queens

Mercy earned a 3-0 win over Queens on October 5, 2021.

Scouting the Mavericks

The Mavericks will honor seniors Sophia Flanders and Tynesha Adams in a ceremony prior to the match. Mercy is coming off a three-set win over Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado who had a match-high 11 kills and by junior Larissa Schneid who had 10 kills. Junior Yarianne Gonzalez had a team-high 20 assists and senior Selma Vulic had a team-high 10 digs. Mercy is looking to win at Molloy for the first time since 2013 and is looking to win the season series for the first time since 2005. Gonzalez has been named ECC Setter of the Week once, junior Larissa Schneid has been named to the ECC Honor Roll seven 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 244 kills and 3.17 kills per set. The junior is also second on the team in digs with 236. Adams leads the team with 49 blocks and is third with 147 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 200 kills and is fifth with 149 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 691 assists with a team-high 241 digs. Gonzalez ranks third in the ECC in assists per set (8.97) and is third in digs (241). Schneid is third in the ECC in kills, and kills per set, fifth in digs and is fourth in service aces per set (0.48). Senior Sophia Flanders was named to the ECC Honor Roll last Monday and ranks third on the team in digs with 234. Senior Selma Vulic has 169 digs. Mercy as a team is third in the ECC in digs per set (16.3) and third in service aces per set (1.82).

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 Knights

Queens will face Bridgeport on Tuesday before playing at Mercy on Thursday. The Knights are coming off a 3-0 loss at D'Youville on Saturday. The Knights enter Tuesday's match with a 3-15 record overall and 2-6 mark in ECC play. Queens' lone wins have come against Caldwell and ECC foes D'Youville and Roberts Wesleyan. Queens was picked sixth in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 2-19 in 2019. The Knights are led by freshman Christina Franco who has a team-high 130 kills with 177 digs. Junior Dee-Ana Mitchell has 108 kills and sophomore Leila Hadjeb has a team-high 200 digs. Freshman Despina Boudouris has a team-high 188 assists and sophomore Alexis Deodat has a team-high 38 blocks.

Next Game

Mercy resumes action on Saturday, November 6th when they play at Daemen at 1 p.m.