DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 24, 2021) – The Mercy College volleyball team plays at Roberts Wesleyan in their ECC opener on Sunday, September 26th at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Sunday, September 26th 12 p.m.
Records: Mercy (4-6, 0-0 ECC), Roberts Wesleyan (0-9, 0-0 ECC)
Location: Rochester, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Roberts Wesleyan
Mercy earned a 3-0 win over Roberts Wesleyan on November 2, 2019.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-0 win over Dominican on Tuesday. The Mavericks were led by junior Larissa Schneid who had a match-high 13 kills with nine digs. Senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado had 10 kills and junior Yarianne Gonzalez had 32 assists. Mercy has won three of the last four matches against Roberts Wesleyan and is looking to start 1-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2005. Gonzalez has been named ECC Setter of the Week once, Schneid has been named to the ECC Honor Roll three times and Rivera Maldonado and senior Tynesha Adams have been named to the Honor Roll once. Schneid leads the team with 110 kills, 3.06 kills per set and 118 digs. Adams leads the team with 21 blocks and is third with 76 kills. Rivera Maldonado is second on the team with 91 kills and fourth with 81 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 321 assists and is second with 117 digs. Gonzalez ranks second in the ECC in assists per set (8.92) and second in the ECC in service aces per set (0.58). Senior Sophia Flanders ranks third on the team in digs with 96 and senior Selma Vulic has 78 digs. Mercy as a team is second in the ECC in digs per set (16.1).
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 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 Redhawks
Roberts Wesleyan has opened their 2021 season with nine straight losses and are coming off a 3-2 loss to D'Youville on Saturday. The Redhawks will host Bridgeport on Saturday before hosting Mercy on Sunday. Roberts Wesleyan was picked fifth in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 2-22 in 2019 and 2-2 during the spring of 2021. Junior Lauren Norwood leads the Redhawks with 50 kills to go along with 42 digs. Freshman Sydney Yanak has 47 kills and freshman Teagan Weber has a team-high 106 digs. Graduate student Emily Rowlison has a team-high 125 assists and a team-high-tying 16 blocks.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Tuesday, September 28th when they host Stonehill at 7 p.m.
