DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team plays at Daemen on Saturday, November 6th at 1 p.m. and at D'Youville on Sunday, November 7th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, November 6th 1 p.m.
Records: Mercy (11-12, 6-2 ECC), Daemen (17-7, 10-0 ECC)
Location: Amherst, N.Y.
Date/Time: Sunday, November 7th 12 p.m.
Records: Mercy (11-12, 6-2 ECC), D'Youville (3-20, 2-8 ECC)
Location: Buffalo, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Daemen
Daemen earned a 3-0 victory over Mercy on October 9, 2021.
Last Meeting vs. D'Youville
Mercy earned a 3-0 win over D'Youville on October 10, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-0 win over Queens on Senior Night on October 28th. The Mavericks were led by junior Larissa Schneid who had a match-high 18 kills with 11 digs and by senior Sophia Flanders who had a match-high 24 assists with 10 digs. Junior Yarianne Gonzalez has been named ECC Setter of the Week once, junior Larissa Schneid has been named to the ECC Honor Roll eight 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. The Mavericks look to win at Daemen for the first time in program history and will play their first-ever match at D'Youville. Mercy has secured their second straight berth into the ECC Tournament and currently sit in third place in the ECC standings. Schneid leads the team with 262 kills and 3.27 kills per set. The junior also leads the team with 247 digs and 39 aces. Adams leads the team with 54 blocks and is third with 156 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 206 kills and is fifth with 153 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 705 assists and is third with 243 digs. Gonzalez ranks third in the ECC in assists per set (8.81). Schneid is third in the ECC in kills, and kills per set and is third in service aces per set (0.49). Senior Sophia Flanders was named to the ECC Honor Roll last Monday and ranks second on the team in digs with 244. Senior Selma Vulic was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday and has 189 digs. Mercy as a team is second in the ECC in digs per set (16.4) and fourth in service aces per set (1.88).
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 Wildcats
Daemen enters Saturday's match on a four-match winning streak and is coming off a 3-0 win over D'Youville on Tuesday. The Wildcats are a perfect 10-0 in ECC play for the first time in program history and are ranked fifth in the first NCAA Regional Rankings. Daemen was picked second in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 16-12 in 2019. The Wildcats are led by senior Caitlyn Meyer who has a team-high 275 kills and leads the ECC with 3.48 kills per set. Senior Sam Logan is second on the team with 191 kills and sophomore Vanessa Kuliga has 161 kills. Sophomore Jasmine Brundage has a team-high 355 digs and sophomore Olivia Alessi has 741 assists. Junior Loren Alberts has a team-high 53 blocks on the year.
Scouting the Saints
D'Youville will face Bridgeport on Saturday before hosting Mercy on Sunday. The Saints are currently on a five-match losing streak and have earned conference wins over Queens and Roberts Wesleyan. D'Youville was picked seventh in the ECC Preseason Poll and two of their three wins this season have come against Roberts Wesleyan. The Saints are led by freshman Eve Musielak who has a team-high 129 kills with 136 digs. Sophomore Brianna Damstetter is second with 101 kills and freshman Samantha Killane leads the team with 282 digs. Freshman Emma Wlostowski has a team-high 495 assists and Damstetter leads the team with 39 blocks.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, November 10th when they play at Molloy at 7 p.m.
