DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 11, 2023) – Powered by a match-high 28 assists from senior Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, Puerto Rico/Monroe College) and a match-high 11 kills from senior Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC), the Mercy University volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-14) Senior Day win over ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
In a ceremony prior to the game, Gonzalez, Schneid, Tanializ Rivera (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Concordia College) and Ayzaline Garay (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Bronx School of Law, Government and Justice) were honored for their contributions to the volleyball program.
The Mavericks (14-7, 7-5 ECC) end the regular season with five straight wins and now have their most wins in a season since 2019. Mercy sweeps the season series with the Spartans (5-15, 1-11 ECC) and have secured the No. 3 seed in next week's ECC Championship. The Mavericks will face No. 2 seed Molloy in a Semifinal at Daemen University on Friday, November 17th at a time to be announced.
Gonzalez also had four digs and four aces and Schneid added seven digs. Graduate student Julia Pomerleau (Portland, Maine/University of Southern Maine) had 10 kills on .714 hitting and junior Aitza Cruz (Vega Alta, Puerto Rico/Polk State College) had a match-high 11 digs. Junior Anyelainy Vizcaino (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Southwestern CC) had six kills and Rivera had five kills and four digs. Freshman Mia Illes-Hair (Lake Worth, Fla./Palm Beach Central) had four kills, sophomore Samantha Cooney (Nyack, N.Y./Nyack) had four digs and Garay added two digs. Freshman Alanis Calderon (Canovanas, Puerto Rico/CIEM Private School) had a match-high five aces.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Jaizahir Marrero-George who had a team-high eight kills.
Mercy jumped out to a 10-2 lead in set one before the Spartans rallied with a 7-3 run to cut the Mavericks lead to four, 13-9. Mercy scored the next eight points to take a 21-9 lead after a Calderon ace. St. Thomas Aquinas later made it 23-12 before a Spartan service error and Illes-Hair and Schneid block gave Mercy the first set, 25-12.
The Mavericks scored the first five points of the second set before the Spartans rallied and cut Mercy's lead to three, 9-6. The Mavericks tallied the next six points to increase the lead to 15-6 after a Vizcaino kill. Mercy later held a 22-13 lead before scoring three of the final four points in the set to take the set, 25-14, after a Pomerleau kill.
Mercy held a 5-4 lead in set three before going on a 10-2 run to take a 15-6 lead after a Gonzalez ace. The Spartans later cut the Mavericks lead to eight, 16-8, before Mercy answered with a 5-1 run to take a 21-9 lead after a Schneid kill. St. Thomas Aquinas went on a 5-2 spurt to make it 23-14 in favor of Mercy. A kill from Pomerleau and a Spartan attack error gave the Mavericks the 25-14 set three win and the match in three sets.
Mercy hit .426 with 36 kills, 34 digs, 12 aces and two blocks. St. Thomas Aquinas hit .086 with 23 kills, 25 digs, three aces and two blocks.
Head Coach Ana Todorovic and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, November 17th when they face Molloy in an ECC Volleyball Championship Semifinal at Daemen University a time to be announced.
