DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 19, 2023) – For the eighth year, Mercy College Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2022-23 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy College Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, culminating with the top moment from the 2022-23 athletic year being unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 6 – Volleyball Posts First Winning Season Since 2005 and Qualifies for ECC Tournament
Coming in at No. 6 in our 2022-23 Top-10 Moments is volleyball who posted their first winning record since 2005 and qualified for the ECC Tournament for the third straight season.
Mercy entered the 2022 season picked second in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 13-15 in 2021. The Mavericks earned one first-place vote and returned ten student-athletes from last year's team under first-year head coach Ana Todorovic.
The Mavericks opened their 2022 season on August 26th in a tri-match at Southern Connecticut State. Mercy earned a 3-1 victory over the hosts Southern Connecticut State in their season opener, defeating the 2021 NCAA Tournament participant for the first time since 1999. Junior Anyelainy Vizcaino Araujo had a match-high 15 kills in her Mercy debut and senior Larissa Schneid had 14 kills and 16 digs. Senior Selma Vulic added 15 digs and senior Yarianne Gonzalez had a match-high 40 assists. The win gave Todorovic her first win as head coach at Mercy.
Mercy took home a 3-1 victory in the second match of the day against Assumption to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2010. Schneid had 13 kills and seven digs in the match and Vizcaino Araujo had 12 kills and seven digs. Vulic had a match-high 23 digs and Gonzalez had a match-high 38 assists. Following the pair of wins, Schneid was named ECC Player of the Week, Vulic was named Defensive Player of the Week, Gonzalez was tabbed Setter of the Week and Vizcaino Araujo earned Honor Roll recognition.
Todorovic and the Mavericks continued their winning ways on September 1st when they cruised to a 3-0 win at Caldwell to improve to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2001. Schneid had a match-high-tying 10 kills with 14 digs and senior Stéphanie Lankhorst had a match-high-tying 10 kills. Gonzalez had a match-high 36 assists and Vulic had a match-high 17 digs.
Gonzalez recorded her 1,000th career assist as a Maverick on September 3rd in Mercy's straight-set win at Goldey-Beacom. Mercy moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2001. Gonzalez had a match-high 35 assists and Schneid had a match-high 17 kills. Vulic had a match-high 10 digs. After the pair of wins on the week, Schneid was named ECC Player of the Week for the second straight week, Gonzalez was tabbed Setter of the Week again and Lankhorst was named to the Honor Roll.
Mercy faced a tall task on September 13th when they played at RV American International who had started the season 10-1. The Mavericks held their own, but fell in four sets, to suffer their first loss of the season. Schneid had a team-high 18 kills in the loss and Gonzalez had a team-high 37 assists.
The Mavericks rebounded on September 17th with a pair of straight-set wins against Pace and Goldey-Beacom, moving to 6-1 on the year. Mercy continued their best start since 2001 and were led in the win over Pace by senior Julia Pomerleau who had a match-high 11 kills. Vulic had a match-high 13 digs and Gonzalez had 26 assists. Schneid had a match-high 14 kills in the win over the Lightning and senior Nilka Rivera Maldonado had a match-high 12 digs. Following another strong week, Lankhorst was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and Schneid and Gonzalez were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
After playing their first seven matches on the road, Mercy finally had their home opener and ECC opener on September 24th against Roberts Wesleyan. Schneid and Gonzalez both had double-doubles as Mercy earned a thrilling five-set win over the Redhawks to move to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in ECC play. The win was the first ECC win for Todorovic and the Mavericks won their fifth straight home opener. Schneid had 15 kills with 14 digs and Gonzalez had 44 assists and 10 digs. Senior Tanializ Rivera added 13 kills and senior Ayzaline Garay contributed 14 digs. Rivera and Gonzalez were named to the ECC Honor Roll following the win.
The Mavericks suffered their first ECC loss of the season on September 28th when they fell to Molloy in straight sets. Mercy saw their three-match winning streak come to an end.
Todorovic and the Mavericks regrouped and got back in the win column on October 1st with a four-set win over Queens. The win was Mercy's eighth straight win over the Knights and the Mavericks were led by Schneid who had a match-high 18 kills with a match-high 12 digs. Gonzalez had a match-high 46 assists with 11 digs and Pomerleau had 14 kills. Gonzalez was tabbed ECC Setter of the Week for the third time and Schneid earned Honor Roll recognition following the win.
Mercy headed back on the road where they played at Bentley on October 5th. The Falcons earned a straight-set win over the Mavericks, dropping Mercy to 8-3 on the year. Mercy dropped their second match in a row on October 8th, 3-1, at first-place Daemen. Vizcaino Araujo had a match-high 18 kills in the loss and Gonzalez had a match-high 38 assists with 13 digs. Mercy concluded the Western New York trip with a 3-1 victory at D'Youville on October 9th. The victory moved Mercy to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in ECC play. Vizcaino Araujo had a match-high 16 kills and Gonzalez had a match-high 36 assists and 14 digs. After the strong week, Vizcaino Araujo was tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll.
The Mavericks made it two wins in a row when they earned a straight-set win over Caldwell on October 17th. The win moved Mercy to 10-4 on the year, recording double-digit wins for the fourth straight season. Lankhorst had a match-high 10 kills and Gonzalez had a match-high 37 assists.
Mercy increased their winning streak to three matches with a 3-1 win at Roberts Wesleyan on October 22nd. The victory improved Mercy to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in ECC play. The win also gave the Mavericks their best start to a season since 2005. Gonzalez had a career-high 52 assists and Vizcaino Araujo had a match-high 16 kills. Rivera had 15 kills and Pomerleau had 13 kills. After the win over Roberts Wesleyan, Pomerleau was named ECC Player of the Week and Vizcaino Araujo was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks extended their winning streak to four matches with a 3-2 win over Molloy on October 27th. Mercy overcame a two-set deficit to earn the win and clinch their third straight ECC Championship berth. The Mavericks moved to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in ECC play after Gonzalez had 40 assists and 10 digs and Pomerleau had a team-high 14 kills. Mercy overcame a two-set deficit for the first time since October 26, 2018 when they accomplished the feat against New York Tech.
Todorovic and the Mavericks had their winning streak snapped at four by Queens on October 29th. Schneid had a match-high 19 kills, but the Knights earned the four-set win in Flushing. Schneid was named to the ECC Honor Roll after the week.
On November 2nd, the Mavericks were ranked 10th in the second NCAA East Regional Rankings, which are used to determine at-large bids for the NCAA Championship. Mercy was looking to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Mercy faced first-place Daemen on November 5th and battled before falling in five sets. The Mavericks became the first ECC school to take the Wildcats to five sets this season. Schneid had a team-high 14 kills and 21 digs.
The next day, the Mavericks honored seniors Lankhorst, Vulic, Rivera Maldonado, and Cristy Encarnacion for their contributions to the program on Senior Day. Mercy then went out and earned a convincing 3-0 win over D'Youville to finish the regular season at 13-6 overall and 6-4 in ECC play. Schneid had 10 kills and 11 digs and Rivera Maldonado had 10 kills and six digs. Lankhorst had 10 kills and Pomerleau had eight kills. Encarnacion had seven kills and Vulic added nine digs. With the win, Mercy finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time since 2005 and matched their win total from last season. Following the win, Gonzalez was named ECC Setter of the Week and Schneid was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy was again ranked 10th in the NCAA Regional Rankings, heading into the ECC Tournament. Prior to the ECC Tournament starting, Gonzalez was named ECC Co-Setter of the Year and Second Team All-ECC. Lankhorst and Schneid were tabbed First Team All-ECC, Pomerleau was named Second Team All-ECC and Vizcaino Araujo received Honorable Mention All-ECC accolades.
The Mavericks earned the No. 4 seed in the ECC Championship and would play at top seed Daemen on November 11th in a Semifinal matchup. The Wildcats had not lost an ECC match all season and would earn a straight-set win over the Mavericks, ending Mercy's season. Schneid had a team-high eight kills and Gonzalez had a team-high 22 assists in the loss. The Mavericks fell in the semifinals for the third straight season and ended their season with a winning record for the first time since 2005.
The team not only excelled on the court but also in the classroom. Schneid, Lankhorst, Rivera Maldonado and Pomerleau were all named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and Schneid was named ECC Co-Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Mavericks also earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for having a 3.49 cumulative GPA during the 2022-23 academic year.
Todorovic and the Mavericks return several key contributors from last year's team and add a strong recruiting class looking to improve upon last year's success.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2022-23 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, the Mercy College Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Monday, July 10th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Monday, July 31st.
No. 1 – July 31st
No. 2 – July 28th
No. 3 – July 26th
No. 4 – July 24th
No. 5 – July 21st
No. 6 – July 19th
No. 7 – Field Hockey Posts First Winning Season in Program History
No. 8 – Baseball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year and Wins First ECC Tournament Game Since 2010
No. 9 - Softball Qualifies for ECC Tournament for Third Straight Year
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Sweeps Bridgeport for First Time Since 2005
