NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Aug. 26, 2022) – Powered by a combined 54 kills on the day from senior Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) and junior Anyelainy Vizcaino Araujo (Santo Domingo Oeste, D.R./Southwestern CC), the Mercy College volleyball team opened its 2022 season with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17) win over 2021 NCAA Tournament participant Southern Connecticut State University before earning a 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20) victory over Assumption University on Friday night at Pelz Gymnasium. The victories are the first wins for first-year Head Coach Ana Todorovic.
The Mavericks (2-0) start 2-0 for the first time since 2010 and defeat 2021 NCAA Tournament participant Southern Connecticut (0-1) for the first time since 1999. Mercy had dropped their last 11 matchups to the Owls before today. Assumption (0-1) falls to the Mavericks for the first time since 2018.
Match 1: Mercy 3, Southern Connecticut State 1
The Mavericks started the first set on a tear, scoring the set's first four points to take a 4-0 lead. Mercy later held a 6-4 lead after a Schneid kill before the Owls scored three straight points to take their first lead of the set at 7-6. Mercy regrouped and regained the lead at 20-18 following a Southern Connecticut State service error. The Owls rattled off five straight points to take a 23-20 lead and held on for the 25-23 set one win.
Mercy once again scored the first four points to take a 4-0 lead in set two. The Owls answered back with four points to tie the set at 4-4. A kill from Schneid capped off a 5-1 run to give Mercy a 9-5 lead. Southern Connecticut stormed back on an 11-5 run to take a 16-14 lead and looked to be on their way to winning the set. The Mavericks quickly followed with a 5-1 run, finished off by a Tanializ Rivera (Carolina, P.R./Concordia College) ace, to give Mercy a 19-17 lead. The Owls took the lead back at 20-19, but Mercy scored four of the next five points to take a 23-21 lead. After a Mercy service error made it 23-22, a Vizcaino Araujo kill and an Owl attack error gave the Mavericks a 25-22 set two win to tie the match at 1-1.
The Owls took a 14-12 lead in set three before Mercy scored four straight points, capped off by a Julia Pomerleau (Portland, Maine/University of Southern Maine) kill, to give the Mavericks a 16-14 lead. Mercy later increased the lead to five, 22-17, after a Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, P.R./Monroe College) ace. Following an Owl kill, the Mavericks scored the final three points of the set to earn a 25-18 set three win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Southern Connecticut took an 8-6 lead in set four and later led 11-10. Mercy rallied with five straight points, finished off by a Selma Vulic (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) ace, to give the Mavericks a 15-11 lead. The Owls later cut the deficit to three, 18-15, but four unanswered points from Mercy put the Mavericks up, 22-15, after a Schneid kill. A Gonzalez kill later in the set gave Mercy a 25-17 set four win and Head Coach Ana Todorovic her first win as Mercy head coach.
Vizcaino Araujo had a match-high 15 kills in her Mercy debut with 14 digs and Schneid had 14 kills and 16 digs. Vulic had 15 digs and three aces and Pomerleau had eight kills and four blocks in her Mercy debut. Gonzalez had a match-high 40 assists with seven digs and Rivera had 11 digs. Senior Stéphanie Lankhorst (Apeldoorn, Netherlands/Koninklijke Scholengemeenschap Apeldoorn) had six kills and three blocks.
Southern Connecticut State was led by Gabriela Gaibur who had a team-high 11 kills.
Mercy hit .123 with 46 kills, 69 digs and eight blocks. Southern Connecticut State hit .065 with 34 kills, 60 digs and seven blocks.
Match 2: Mercy 3, Assumption 1
Mercy took a 7-2 lead in set one after a Lankhorst kill. Assumption cut the deficit to one, 7-6, before three straight points from the Mavericks gave them a 10-6 lead. Mercy increased the lead to six, 14-8, after another Vizcaino Araujo kill. The Greyhounds battled their way back and cut Mercy's lead to one, 24-23, late in the set. A Rivera kill gave the Mavericks a 25-23 set one win.
The Mavericks built a 6-2 lead in set two after a Rivera ace. Assumption later took a 15-12 lead before three consecutive points by Mercy tied the set at 15-15. The Mavericks later retook the lead at 18-17 after an Ayzaline Garay (San Juan, P.R./Bronx School of Law, Government and Justice) kill. The Greyhounds scored the next seven points to take a 24-18 lead and they held on for the 25-19 win to tie the match at 1-1.
Mercy held a 14-10 lead in set three after a Schneid kill. Assumption rallied and tied the set at 19-19 before a service error and Schneid kill gave the Mavericks a 21-19 lead. The Greyhounds got back to within a point after an ace, 24-23, but a Vizcaino Araujo kill gave Mercy a 25-23 set three win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
A Schneid kill in the fourth set gave Mercy a 6-1 lead. The Mavericks later made it 11-4 after a Schneid ace. Assumption went on a 15-7 run to take a 19-18 lead. The teams traded points, giving the Greyhounds a 20-19 lead. Assumption looked to be on the verge of tying the match, but Mercy had other ideas and closed the set with six straight points, finished off by back-to-back kills from Vizcaino Araujo, giving Mercy a 25-20 set four win and the win in four sets.
Schneid had 13 kills and seven digs and Vizcaino Araujo had 12 kills and seven digs. Vulic had a match-high 23 digs and Gonzalez had a match-high 38 assists with nine digs. Lankhorst had nine kills and Pomerleau also had nine kills.
Assumption was led by Alexis Distasio who had a match-high 16 kills.
Mercy hit .241 with 50 kills, 64 digs and three blocks. Assumption hit .158 with 43 kills, 55 digs and four blocks.
Head Coach Ana Todorovic and the Mavericks resume action on Thursday, September 1st when they play at Caldwell at 5 p.m.
