DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team plays at Molloy on Wednesday, November 10th at 7 p.m. and at Bridgeport on Friday, November 12th at 7 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Wednesday, November 10th 7 p.m.

Records: Mercy (12-13, 7-3 ECC), Molloy (11-12, 6-4 ECC)

Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y.

Date/Time: Friday, November 12th 7 p.m.

Records: Mercy (12-13, 7-3 ECC), Bridgeport (16-9, 8-3 ECC)

Location: Bridgeport, Conn.

Last Meeting vs. Molloy

Mercy earned a 3-1 win over Molloy on September 29, 2021.

Last Meeting vs. Bridgeport

Bridgeport earned a 3-1 win over Mercy on October 13, 2021.

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off a 3-0 win over D'Youville on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by junior Larissa Schneid who had a match-high 11 kills and five aces. Junior Yarianne Gonzalez had a match-high 31 assists and senior Selma Vulic had a match-high 14 digs. Gonzalez has been named ECC Setter of the Week once, junior Larissa Schneid has been named to the ECC Honor Roll nine 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. Mercy has secured their second straight ECC Tournament berth and with wins over Molloy and Bridgeport would secure the No. 2 seed in next week's tournament. Mercy last won at Molloy in 2013 and has not won at Bridgeport since 2002. Schneid leads the team with 281 kills and 3.27 kills per set. The junior also leads the team with 264 digs and 44 aces. Adams leads the team with 55 blocks and is third with 166 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 218 kills and is fifth with 167 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 755 assists and is second with 262 digs. Gonzalez ranks third in the ECC in assists per set (8.78). Schneid is third in the ECC in kills, and kills per set and is second in service aces per set (0.51). Senior Sophia Flanders was named to the ECC Honor Roll on October 25th and ranks third on the team in digs with 246. Senior Selma Vulic was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week last Monday and has 216 digs. Mercy as a team is second in the ECC in digs per set (16.4) and fourth in service aces per set (1.9).

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 Lions

Molloy is coming off a 3-0 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday. The Lions have won two of their last three matches. Molloy was picked first in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 28-5 in 2019, winning the ECC Championship and East Region Championship. The Lions have been led by senior Graciela Cruz who has a team-high 227 kills and by junior Kathleen Doherty who is second on the team with 156 kills and has a team-high 272 digs. Senior Kassie Akouri Tejedor leads the team with 657 assists and is second with 239 digs and sophomore Colleen Moulder has a team-high 53 blocks.

Scouting the Purple Knights

Bridgeport enters Friday's match coming off a 3-0 loss to Daemen on Sunday that snapped an eight-match winning streak. The Purple Knights were picked third in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 26-8 in 2019. Bridgeport is 26-2 against Mercy in their last 28 meetings. The Purple Knights last lost to Mercy in 2018. Bridgeport is led by freshman Paola Hernandez who has a team-high 318 kills with 225 digs. Senior Emily Burford is second on the team with 254 kills and senior Amanda Hennemann has a team-high 297 digs. Freshman Jaden Drollinger has a team-high 979 assists and senior Amanda Keller has a team-high 66 blocks.