CALDWELL, N.J. – The Mercy University Women's Volleyball Team plays at Caldwell University on Wednesday, October 7th at 7 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 7th 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (12-1), Caldwell (3-13)
Location: Caldwell, N.J.
Last Meeting vs. Caldwell
Mercy earned a 3-0 win over Caldwell on September 4, 2025.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 3-2 win over Daemen on Sunday for their fourth straight win. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Ella Buonauro who had a career-high 55 assists and by juniors Grace Dilena and Aleksandra Lucic who both had double-doubles. Mercy has won six straight meetings against Caldwell. Dilena was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday, Lucic was named Defensive Player of the Week and Buonauro and senior Mia Illes-Hair were named to the Honor Roll. Junior Stasa Stamenkovic was named ECC Player of the Week on September 28th, junior Aleksandra Lucic was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week, senior Adriana Rodriguez was named Setter of the Week, and junior Grace Dilena was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Dilena was named ECC Player of the Week on September 21st, Stamenkovic was named Defensive Player of the Week, and senior Adriana Rivera Rodriguez was tabbed Setter of the Week. Rivera Rodriguez was named ECC Setter of the Week on September 14th, Illes-Hair was named Defensive Player of the Week and junior Grace Dilena and Stamenkovic were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Dilena was named ECC Player of the Week on September 7th, sophomore Kamila Colon was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week and Rivera Rodriguez was tabbed Setter of the Week. Dilena was named ECC Player of the Week on August 31st, Colon was named Defensive Player of the Week, senior Adriana Rivera Rodriguez was tabbed Setter of the Week and juniors Aleksandra Lucic and Stamenkovic were named to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks have been led by Rivera Rodriguez who has a team-high 397 assists to go with 106 digs, 34 kills and 21 aces. Rivera Rodriguez recorded her 2,000th career assist against Bridgeport on August 29th and her 2,000th career assist as a Maverick against Pace on September 1st. Junior Aleksandra Lucic has 102 kills with 28 aces, and 105 digs and senior Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentes has 74 kills and 33 blocks. Dilena has a team-high 170 kills with 20 aces and 86 digs and Stamenkovic has 120 kills and 115 digs. Senior Mia Illes-Hair has 88 kills on the year with a team-high 37 blocks and sophomore Kamila Colon has posted a team-high 131 digs on the year. Head Coach Ana Todorovic recorded her 100th career win as a women's volleyball head coach following the win at Monroe on September 3rd.
Mercy went 22-5 last season, winning their first ECC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. The Mavericks qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and for the ECC Championship for the sixth consecutive year. Head Coach Ana Todorovic and the Mavericks were picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll and junior Grace Dilena was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year. Leading the returners is Dilena who was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, AVCA First Team All-Region, D2CCA Second Team All-Region, First Team All-ECC and the ECC Championship's Most Outstanding Player after starting all 27 matches with 373 kills and 212 digs last season. Also returning is senior Adriana Rivera Rodriguez who was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, AVCA First Team All-Region, ECC Setter of the Year and First Team All-ECC last season after starting all 27 matches with a team-high 896 assists and 244 digs. Senior Mia Illes-Hair also returns after being named Second Team All-ECC in 2025. Illes-Hair started all 27 matches, leading the team with 96 blocks while adding 187 kills. Senior Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentes returns after posting 109 kills and 87 blocks last season. Sophomore Kamila Colon was second on the team with 227 digs last season and sophomore Isabella Brown returns after posting 120 digs. Sophomore Kori Sessions posted 52 kills last season and sophomores Sophia Chapman and Ella Buonauro also return.
Todorovic also adds four transfers and one freshman to the team ahead of the 2026 season. Leading the newcomers is junior Aleksandra Lucic who transfers from Florida SouthWestern State College and American International College. Lucic was named NE10 Rookie of the Year as a freshman at AIC and was named First Team All-Conference and Third Team All-American at Florida SouthWestern last season. Junior Stasa Stamenkovic joins Mercy from Barton Community College where she was named First Team All-American. Junior Devin Brunk comes from Frostburg State University where she played two years, recording over 300 kills and 270 digs. Freshman Maya Norlin comes from Oswego High School in Illinois where she was named All-Conference as a senior.
Scouting the Cougars
Caldwell is coming off a 3-0 loss to Felician on Monday. The Cougars went 0-24 last season and were picked fifth in the CACC North Division Preseason Poll. Caldwell has been led by Marley Rudolph who has a team-high 114 kills. Meredith Gatz has 102 kills and Olivia Oakley has a team-high 147 digs. Grace Moliterno has a team-high 197 assists and 18 aces and Sarah Ojo has a team-high 41 blocks.
Next Game
Mercy plays at Molloy on Saturday, October 10th at 12 p.m.
