DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 29, 2023) – Powered by a match-high 19 kills from senior Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC), a match-high 37 assists from senior Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, Puerto Rico/Monroe College) and a team-high 10 digs from sophomore Samantha Cooney (Nyack, N.Y./Nyack), the Mercy University volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15) win over ECC foe Queens College on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (10-7, 5-5 ECC) snap a four-match losing streak and earn a split of the season series with the Knights (12-8, 6-3 ECC).
Schneid hit .308 with eight digs and Gonzalez added seven digs. Cooney added a team-high 10 digs and junior Anyelainy Vizcaino (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Southwestern CC) had 10 kills and eight digs. Graduate student Julia Pomerleau (Portland, Maine/University of Southern Maine) had six kills and senior Tanializ Rivera (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Concordia College) contributed five kills. Freshman Mia Illes-Hair (Lake Worth, Fla./Palm Beach Central) had three kills and junior Aitza Cruz (Vega Alta, Puerto Rico/Polk State College) had four digs.
Queens was led by Kendall Conrad who had a team-high 10 kills.
Mercy jumped out to a 5-3 lead in set one after an Illes-Hair block. Queens answered with a 5-2 run to take an 8-7 lead before the Mavericks rattled off five straight points to take a 12-8 lead after a Rivera kill. The Knights followed with four unanswered points to tie the set at 12-12. Mercy ensued with an 8-2 run to take a 20-14 lead. Queens later cut the deficit to four, 24-20, before a Schneid kill gave the Mavericks the 25-20 set one win.
Queens built a 7-4 lead in set two before Mercy rallied with three straight points to tie the set at 7-7. The Knights later retook the lead at 12-9 before the Mavericks scored four of the next five points to tie the set at 13-13 after a Schneid kill. The teams traded points until Queens held a 17-16 lead before a Vizcaino kill and ace put the Mavericks back in front, 18-17. Queens tied the set again at 18-18 before a Schneid kill made it 19-18 in favor of Mercy. Back-to-back Knight points gave the guests a 20-19 lead before Illes-Hair and Schneid kills gave the Mavericks the lead again at 21-20. Queens netted three of the next four points to take a 23-22 lead. Mercy ended the set with three consecutive points, coming off two kills from Vizcaino and one from Pomerleau, to take the second set, 25-23.
The third set was tied at 4-4 before Mercy went on a 5-1 run to take a 9-5 lead. Queens later cut the Mavericks lead to three, 14-11, before Mercy followed with a 5-1 spurt to take a 19-12 lead. Queens later made it 22-15 in favor of Mercy before three straight points from the Mavericks, capped off by a Schneid kill, gave Mercy the set and the match in three sets.
Mercy hit .323 with 43 kills, 38 digs, four blocks and four aces and Queens hit .170 with 31 kills, 31 digs, six blocks and four aces.
Head Coach Ana Todorovic and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, October 31st when they play at Saint Rose at 7 p.m.
