DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 13, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team plays at Lincoln on Thursday, September 16th at 6 p.m. before hosting Felician on Friday, September 17th at 6 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Thursday, September 16th 6 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-6), Lincoln (0-3)
Location: Lincoln University, Pa.
Date/Time: Friday, September 17th 6 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-6), Felician (3-6)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Lincoln
Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Last Meeting vs. Felician
Mercy earned a 3-2 win at Felician on September 30, 2018.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-2 loss to Southern N.H. and a 3-0 loss to Saint Anselm on Tuesday. The Mavericks were led by senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado and juniors Larissa Schneid and Yarianne Gonzalez who each had a double-double on the day. Schneid and senior Tynesha Adams were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. Schneid leads the team with 87 kills and 2.90 kills per set and is second with 101 digs. Adams leads the team with 20 blocks and is third with 66 kills. Rivera Maldonado was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll last week and is second on the team with 80 kills. Gonzalez was named ECC Setter of the Week last week and has a team-high 266 assists and 108 digs. Gonzalez ranks third in the ECC in assists per set (8.87) and fifth in the ECC in service aces per set (0.57). Mercy as a team leads the ECC in digs per set (17.2). 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 seniors Selma Vulic and Sophia Flanders and 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 junior Ayzaline 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 Julianne Fernandez, Jaelyn Ríos and Sydney Whitfield.
Scouting the Lions
Lincoln enters the match Thursday winless in three matches this season. The Lions are currently on a 15-match losing streak dating back to 2019. Their last win came against Saint Augustine's on October 6, 2019. Lincoln fell in three sets in their last match on Tuesday at Goldey-Beacom. The Lions are led by Haley Loper who has a team-high 15 kills and by Kaiya Lewis who is second with 10 kills. Jaida Lumpkin has a team-high 21 assists and six aces. Mariah Webster has a team-high 16 digs and Lewis has a team-high eight blocks.
Scouting the Golden Falcons
Felician is coming off a 3-1 win over Dominican on Wednesday that snapped a two-match losing streak. The Golden Falcons lost to Pace in five sets on September 7th. Mercy defeated Pace in four sets in their home opener on September 3rd. Felician was picked first in the CACC North Division Coaches' Poll after going 2-6 in the spring of 2021 and 16-18 in 2019. Hannah Chiswick leads the Golden Falcons with 107 kills and Maddie Sloan is second with 67 kills. Miquela Martinez has a team-high 145 assists and Alondra Diaz Sanchez has a team-high 165 digs.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Tuesday, September 21st when they host Dominican at 7 p.m.
