DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 12, 2023) – Powered by a double-double from senior Larissa Schneid (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) and a match-high 42 assists and seven aces from senior Yarianne Gonzalez (Manati, P.R./Monroe College), the Mercy University volleyball team earned a 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 25-12) win over Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (4-0) start 4-0 for the second straight year and defeat the Owls (4-5) for the second consecutive year.
Schneid had a match-high 17 kills with 11 digs and Gonzalez had 42 assists, eight digs, seven aces and four kills. Senior Anyelainy Vizcaino (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Southwestern CC) had 11 kills and six digs and senior Ayzaline Garay (Bayamon, P.R./Bronx School of Law, Government and Justice) had seven kills and a match-high 13 digs. Junior Aitza Cruz (Vega Alta, P.R./Polk State College) had eight digs and graduate student Julia Pomerleau (Portland, Maine/University of Southern Maine) had six kills. Freshman Mia Illes-Hair (Lake Worth, Fla./Palm Beach Central) had five kills and three aces.
Southern Connecticut State was led by Sara Enright who had a team-high 10 kills.
The Owls jumped out to a 3-1 lead in set one before Mercy rallied with a 7-2 run to take an 8-5 lead after a Schneid ace. Southern Connecticut scored the next four points to take the lead back at 9-8 and later held a 10-9 advantage. The Mavericks followed with the next three points to take a 12-10 lead before the Owls tied the set again at 12-12. Three straight points from Mercy put them up, 15-12, after a Vizcaino kill. Southern Connecticut battled back on a 5-1 spurt to take a 17-16 lead. The set was later tied at 18-18 before the Mavericks ended the set on a 7-1 run, capped off by an Illes-Hair ace, to give Mercy the 25-19 set one win.
Mercy took a 7-2 lead in set two after a Schneid kill. The Owls later cut the deficit to three, 10-7. However, the Mavericks went on a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 16-7. A Vizcaino kill later in the set gave Mercy a 19-8 lead. Southern Connecticut went on a 10-4 run to cut the Mavericks lead to 23-18 late in the set. A kill from Gonzalez and an ace from Gonzalez gave Mercy the 25-18 set two win.
The Mavericks built a 10-4 lead in set three after an Illes-Hair ace. The Owls answered with a 14-5 run to take an 18-15 lead. Mercy scored three of the next four points to make it 19-18 before back-to-back Southern Connecticut State points made it 21-18. The Owls increased the lead to 24-19 before a service error and Schneid kill got the Mavericks to within three, 24-21. However, a Kacey Deecher kill gave the Owls the 25-21 set three win.
Mercy scored the first five points of the fourth set to take a 5-0 lead after a Garay kill. The Owls later made it 8-4 before a service error and two straight Schneid kills gave Mercy an 11-4 lead. Southern Connecticut State later cut the deficit to six, 13-7, before the Mavericks went on an 11-2 run to take a 24-9 lead. The Owls scored three straight points to make it 24-12 before a Southern Connecticut State ball handling error gave the Mavericks the set and match in four sets.
Mercy hit .243 with 50 kills, 49 digs, 13 aces and three blocks. Southern Connecticut State hit .175 with 39 kills, 39 digs, two aces and seven blocks.
Head Coach Ana Todorovic and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, September 15th when they play at Dominican at 6 p.m.
