DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 8, 2023) – Powered by a career-high 17 kills from graduate student Julia Pomerleau (Portland, Maine/University of Southern Maine) and double-doubles from seniors Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) and Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, Puerto Rico/Monroe College), the Mercy University volleyball team earned a 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 25-15) win over ECC foe D'Youville University on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (8-3, 3-2 ECC) snap a two-match losing streak and improve to 5-0 all-time against the Saints (5-13, 1-4 ECC).
Pomerleau had a match-high 17 kills on .556 hitting and Schneid had 15 kills and a match-high 12 digs. Gonzalez had a match-high 49 assists with 11 digs and senior Tanializ Rivera (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Concordia College) had a season-high 10 kills with three aces. Junior Anyelainy Vizcaino (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Southwestern CC) had 12 kills and freshman Mia Illes-Hair (Lake Worth, Fla./Palm Beach Central) had five kills. Junior Aitza Cruz (Vega Alta, Puerto Rico/Polk State College) had nine digs and sophomore Samantha Cooney (Nyack, N.Y./Nyack) added six digs.
D'Youville was led by Madeline O'Brien who had a team-high 13 kills.
The Saints took an 8-4 lead in set one before Mercy scored three straight points to make it 8-7 after a Vizcaino kill. Back-to-back D'Youville points made it 10-7 before the Mavericks answered with a 7-1 run, capped off by back-to-back Vizcaino kills, to give Mercy a 14-11 lead. A Schneid kill later in the set gave the Mavericks a 17-13 advantage before the Saints scored three unanswered points to make it 17-16. Mercy built the lead back to three, 21-18, before D'Youville scored two points in a row to make it 21-20. A Saints service error gave the Mavericks a 22-20 lead. The teams traded points late in the set and D'Youville cut Mercy's lead to just one, 24-23. However, a Pomerleau kill gave the Mavericks a 25-23 set one win.
D'Youville built a 5-4 lead in set two before Mercy rallied with an 8-3 run to take a 12-8 lead after a Gonzalez kill. The Saints later cut the Mavericks lead to three, 18-15, but Mercy netted the next four points, finished off by a Rivera kill, to take a 22-15 lead. D'Youville scored two of the next three points to make it 23-17, but a kill from Gonzalez and a Saints attack error gave Mercy the 25-17 set two win.
Mercy scored the first four points of the third set and led 6-1 after a Schneid kill. The Mavericks later held an 11-7 lead after a Pomerleau kill. D'Youville went on an 8-3 run to take a 15-14 lead. Mercy ensued with a 4-1 spurt to take the lead back at 18-16 after a Vizcaino kill. The Mavericks later increased the lead to three, 20-17, but the Saints went on a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 22-21. D'Youville later led 24-23, serving for set point but a kill from Schneid and an ace from Rivera gave Mercy a 25-24 lead and serving for the match. The Saints scored the final three points of the set to earn a 27-25 set three win.
The Saints held a 10-8 lead in set four before four consecutive points from the Mavericks made it 12-10. A D'Youville point made it 12-11 before Mercy netted four more points to take a 16-11 lead after an Illes-Hair kill. The Saints later cut the deficit to four, 18-14, but the Mavericks ended the set on a 7-1 run, finished off by a Pomerleau kill, to give Mercy the 25-15 set four win and the match in four sets.
Mercy hit .352 with 61 kills, 47 digs, nine aces and three blocks. D'Youville hit .172 with 40 kills, 42 digs, eight aces and six blocks.
Head Coach Ana Todorovic and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, October 14th when they play at St. Thomas Aquinas at 12 p.m.
