DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 6, 2022) – Powered by five Mavericks recording seven or more kills, the Mercy College volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-17) Senior Day win over ECC foe D'Youville University on Sunday afternoon at Victory Gymnasium.
In a ceremony prior to the game, seniors Stéphanie Lankhorst (Apeldoorn, Netherlands/Koninklijke Scholengemeenschap Apeldoorn), Selma Vulic (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle), Nilka Rivera Maldonado (Bayamon, P.R./Concordia College) and Cristy Encarnacion (St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands/Alcorn State University) were recognized for their contributions to the program.
The Mavericks (13-6, 6-4 ECC) match their win total from last year and finish the regular season with a winning record for the first time since 2005. Mercy sweeps the season series with the Saints (4-23, 0-10 ECC) and has secured the No. 4 seed in next week's ECC Championship. The Mavericks will play at No. 1 seed Daemen in a Semifinal matchup on November 11th at 5 p.m.
Senior Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) led the way with 10 kills and 11 digs and Rivera Maldonado had 10 kills and six digs. Lankhorst had 10 kills and three blocks and senior Julia Pomerleau (Portland, Maine/University of Southern Maine) had eight kills. Encarnacion had seven kills and senior Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, P.R./Monroe College) had 39 assists and eight digs. Vulic added nine digs.
D'Youville was led by Isabelle Prentice who had a team-high four kills.
Mercy jumped out to an 8-2 lead in set one and later held a 13-4 lead. The Saints scored three straight points to make it 13-7 before the Mavericks netted four consecutive points, capped off by a Lankhorst kill, to give Mercy a 17-7 lead. D'Youville later cut the deficit to 17-12, but four straight points from Mercy made it 21-12 after an Encarnacion kill. The Saints later made it 21-16 before the Mavericks ended the set with four unanswered points to take the set, 25-16.
The Mavericks built a 9-1 lead in set two after a Schneid kill. The Saints later cut the deficit to four, 17-13, but Mercy ended the set with eight straight points, finished off by a Lankhorst kill, to take the second set, 25-13.
The Saints held an 8-7 lead in set three before Mercy scored five straight points to take a 12-8 lead after a Encarnacion and Lankhorst block. The Mavericks later held a 17-13 lead before scoring four straight points to take a 21-13 lead after back-to-back Pomerleau kills. Mercy led the rest of the set and secured the set and match after a D'Youville attack error.
Mercy hit .318 with 45 kills, 40 digs, three blocks and eight aces. D'Youville hit .013 with 14 kills, 23 digs, six blocks and five aces.
