NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Mercy University Women's Volleyball Team plays at Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, September 15th at 7 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Tuesday, September 15th 7 p.m.

Records: Mercy (7-0), Southern Connecticut State (7-2)

Location: New Haven, Conn.

Last Meeting vs. Southern Connecticut State

Mercy earned a 3-0 win over Southern Connecticut State on September 16, 2025.  

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off a 3-0 win over Georgian Court on Friday. The Mavericks were led by senior Mia Illes-Hair and junior Stasa Stamenkovic who both had a match-high 10 kills. Mercy has started 7-0 for the first time since 2001 and look to start 8-0 for the first time since 2001. The Mavericks have defeated the Owls in each of the last four years. Senior Adriana Rivera Rodriguez was named ECC Setter of the Week on Monday, 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 234 assists to go with 68 digs, 22 kills and 19 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 53 kills with 21 aces, and 51 digs and senior Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentes has 39 kills and 18 blocks. Dilena has a team-high 86 kills with 12 aces and 40 digs and Stamenkovic has 76 kills and 53 digs. Senior Mia Illes-Hair has 44 kills on the year with a team-high 19 blocks and sophomore Kamila Colon has posted a team-high 87 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. Junior Mya Rodriguez joins the Mavericks from American International and freshman Maya Norlin comes from Oswego High School in Illinois where she was named All-Conference as a senior.

Scouting the Owls

Southern Connecticut State is coming off a 3-0 win over Post on Friday. The Owls went 16-8 last season, falling in the NE10 Championship Semifinals. Southern Connecticut State was picked fourth in the NE10 Preseason Poll. The Owls have been led by Kerrigan Habing who has a team-high 119 kills and 18 aces. Sarah Henault has a team-high 128 digs and Kimi Mitchell has a team-high 299 assists. Sydney Bennett leads the team with 29 blocks and is second with 80 kills. Mitchell is also second on the team with 85 digs.

Next Game

Mercy hosts Bentley on Thursday, September 17th at 6 p.m.