DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 16, 2021) – The No. 3 seed Mercy College volleyball team plays No. 2 seed University of Bridgeport in an ECC Volleyball Championship Semifinal matchup on Friday, November 19th at 7:30 pm at Daemen College

Who, When and Where

Semifinals

Date/Time: Friday, November 19th 7:30 p.m.

Records: No. 3 Mercy (13-14), No. 2 Bridgeport (17-9)

Location: Amherst, N.Y. (Daemen College)

Date/Time: Friday, November 19th 5:30 p.m.

Records: No. 1 Daemen (20-7), No. 4 Molloy (12-13)

Location: Amherst, N.Y. (Daemen College)

Final

Date/Time: Saturday, November 20th 3 p.m.

Teams: Mercy/Bridgeport winner vs. Daemen/Molloy winner

Location: Amherst, N.Y. (Daemen College)

Ticket Information

Tickets for each game of the championship can be purchased in advance at www.eccsports.org/tickets. Ticket prices will be $8 for general admission and $4 for senior citizens, students, and children ages 2-5. Children under two will be admitted for free. In addition, cash will not be accepted so those wishing to purchase tickets at the venue must still use the ECC ticket website to purchase them (QR code to scan with a smartphone will be available at the gate).

In accordance with Daemen College policies, all spectators must wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.

Last Meeting vs. Bridgeport

Mercy dropped a 3-2 decision to Bridgeport last Friday, November 12th.

Last Meeting vs. Daemen

Daemen earned a 3-0 win over Mercy on November 6, 2021.

Last Meeting vs. Molloy

Mercy earned a 3-1 win over Molloy on November 10, 2021.

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off a 3-2 loss to Bridgeport on Friday. Junior Larissa Schneid had a match-high 21 kills and junior Yarianne Gonzalez had a team-high 50 assists. The Mavericks have earned their second straight appearance in the ECC Championship and are looking for their first championship since 2001. Mercy last made the Final in 2005 and had their best regular season and ECC records since 2005. The Mavericks have won the ECC Championship three times (1999, 2000 and 2001). Mercy is 2-27 in their last 29 matches against Bridgeport but just took the Purple Knights to five sets on the road last Friday. The Mavericks last beat Bridgeport on October 10, 2018. Gonzalez has been named ECC Setter of the Week once, junior Larissa Schneid has been named to the ECC Honor Roll 10 times and named ECC Player of the Week once 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 315 kills and 3.32 kills per set. The junior also leads the team with 297 digs and 46 aces. Adams leads the team with 66 blocks and is third with 189 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 242 kills and is fifth with 183 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 843 assists and is second with 293 digs. Gonzalez ranks third in the ECC in assists per set (8.87). Schneid is second in the ECC in kills and kills per set and is fourth in service aces per set (0.48). Senior Sophia Flanders was named to the ECC Honor Roll on October 25th and ranks third on the team in digs with 262. Senior Selma Vulic was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on November 1st and has 256 digs. Mercy as a team is second in the ECC in digs per set (16.4) and fourth in service aces per set (1.8).

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 Purple Knights

Bridgeport is coming off a 3-2 win over Mercy last Friday. The Purple Knights qualified for the ECC Championship for the 18th straight season. Bridgeport has won the ECC Championship five times, with their last coming in 2015. The Purple Knights are led by freshman Paola Hernandez who is a one-time ECC Player of the Week and five-time Rookie of the Week selection. She leads the ECC with 331 kills and has 248 digs and 35 service aces. Senior Emily Burford is a one-time ECC Player of the Week and is second on the team with 271 kills and 258 digs. Senior Amanda Keller is a one-time ECC Player of the Week with 227 kills and freshman Melanie Smith is a one-time ECC Rookie of the Week with 210 kills. Freshman Jaden Drollinger is a four-time ECC Setter of the Week and one-time ECC Rookie of the Week and has an ECC-best 1,037 assists with 239 digs. Senior Amanda Hennemann is a one-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week and has a team-high 319 digs.

Scouting the Wildcats

Daemen is coming off a 3-0 win over Le Moyne last Thursday. The Wildcats enter the championship on a seven-match winning streak and went a perfect 12-0 in ECC play to earn the right to host. Daemen won their third regular season championship in five seasons and only lost one set over the 12 matches. The Wildcats qualified for the championship for the third straight season and fourth time in five years. Daemen is looking to win their second ECC Championship with the only one coming in 2018, the last time they hosted. The Wildcats are led by senior Caitlyn Meyer who is a four-time ECC Player of the Week, has a team-high 310 kills and leads the ECC with 3.52 kills per set. Senior Sam Logan is a one-time ECC Player of the Week and is second on the team with 209 kills. Sophomore Vanessa Kuliga has 173 kills and 57 blocks and is a one-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week. Sophomore Jasmine Brundage has a team-high 399 digs and is a six-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week. Sophomore Olivia Alessi has 770 assists and is a three-time ECC Setter of the Week.

Scouting the Lions

Molloy is coming off a 3-0 win over Queens on Saturday. The Lions qualified for the tournament for the fourth straight year and are the defending champions. They have won two of the past three ECC titles. The Lions have been led by senior Graciela Cruz who has a team-high 252 kills and is a one-time ECC Player of the Week. Junior Kathleen Doherty is second on the team with 157 kills and has a team-high 299 digs. Senior Kassie Akouri Tejedor is a one-time ECC Setter of the Week and leads the team with 716 assists and is second with 258 digs. Sophomore Colleen Moulder has a team-high 60 blocks.