DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 20, 2023) – The Mercy University volleyball team plays at ECC foe Daemen University on Saturday, October 21st at 12 p.m. and at ECC foe D'Youville University on Sunday, October 22nd at 12 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, October 21st 12 p.m.
Records: Mercy (9-4, 4-2 ECC), Daemen (16-5, 6-0 ECC)
Location: Amherst, N.Y.
Date/Time: Sunday, October 22nd 12 p.m.
Records: Mercy (9-4, 4-2 ECC), D'Youville (5-14, 1-5 ECC)
Location: Buffalo, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Daemen
Daemen earned a 3-0 win over Mercy on October 7, 2023.
Last Meeting vs. D'Youville
Mercy earned a 3-1 win over D'Youville on October 8, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
The Mavericks are coming off a 3-0 loss at RV Bentley on Tuesday. Mercy went 13-7 last season and qualified for the ECC Championship for the third straight season. The Mavericks finished with their first winning record since 2005 and just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Mercy earned an NCAA Regional Ranking during the latter part of the 2022 season and will look to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. The Mavericks were picked in a tie for second in the ECC Preseason Poll. Leading the returners for Head Coach Ana Todorovic is senior Larissa Schneid who was named First Team All-ECC last season after leading the team with 196 kills and ranking third on the team with 168 digs. Last year's ECC Co-Setter of the Year senior Yarianne Gonzalez also returns after recording a team-high 728 assists with 180 digs a year ago. Graduate student Julia Pomerleau was named Second Team All-ECC last season and returns in 2023 after hitting an impressive .364 with 167 kills and 30 blocks. Junior Anyelainy Vizcaino was tabbed All-ECC Honorable Mention last season after ranking second on the team in kills (174) and aces (29). Schneid leads the Mavericks this season with 163 kills and is third in the ECC with 3.62 kills per set. She also leads the team with 137 digs and has been named to the ECC Honor Roll four times. Senior Ayzaline Garay is fourth on the team with 71 kills and is fourth on the team with 83 digs. Gonzalez has a team-high 416 assists and leads the ECC with 9.90 assists per set. Gonzalez was named ECC Setter of the Week on Monday and has been named to the ECC Honor Roll three times. Pomerleau is hitting an ECC-best .421 with 111 kills and a team-high 40 blocks. She ranks No. 11 nationally in hitting percentage. Junior Aitza Cruz is second on the team with 121 digs. The Mavericks rank 14th nationally in aces per set (2.22). Mercy has dropped six straight matches to Daemen and is 3-17 in their last 20 matches against the Wildcats. The Mavericks look to win at Daemen for the first time. Mercy is 5-0 all-time against D'Youville.
Scouting the Wildcats
Daemen is coming off a 3-2 loss at Gannon on Wednesday. The loss snapped a nine-match winning streak. Daemen was picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 20-6 last season. The Wildcats went undefeated in ECC play last season and have won 29-straight regular-season conference matches dating back to the end of the 2019 season. Daemen won the ECC Regular Season and Tournament Championships last season and have participated in the NCAA Tournament in four of the last six years. The Wildcats won the East Region Championship in 2021. Daemen is led by two-time ECC Player of the Week and four-time Rookie of the Week Charlotte Koerber who ranks second in the ECC in kills (249) and second in kills per set (3.83). She also has 191 digs and 36 aces. One-time ECC Player of the Week Giselle Giraud has 213 kills with a .365 hitting percentage and has 32 blocks. ECC Preseason Player of the Year and two-time Player of the Week Maggie Burns has 158 kills and 153 digs. Four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week Jasmine Brundage has an ECC-best 340 digs and 5.07 digs per set. Two-time ECC Setter of the Week Dunja Masic has a team-high 484 assists and Olivia Alessi has 253 assists.
Scouting the Saints
D'Youville is coming off a 3-0 loss to Daemen on October 12th. The Saints will host St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday before hosting Mercy on Sunday. D'Youville was picked fifth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 4-23 last season. The Saints have been led by two-time ECC Rookie of the Week Madeline O'Brien who has an ECC-best 259 kills. The freshman also has 156 digs and 19 blocks. Giselle Ramirez has 135 kills and Isabelle Prentice is third on the team with 96 kills. Emma Wlostowski has a team-high 218 digs and Samantha Killane is second on the team with 175 digs and leads the team with 41 aces. One-time ECC Rookie of the Week Mitha Hatwar leads the team with 434 assists and has 160 digs.
Next Match
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, October 25th when they host Molloy at 7 p.m.
