Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 29, 2016) - Despite playing a competitive first set and winning the third game in the match, the Molloy College volleyball team was unable to keep Mercy College from picking up its first win on Thursday (Sept. 29). The Mavericks took a four-set victory in an East Coast Conference tilt with set scores of 25-22, 25-16, 23-25 and 25-22. Mercy is 1-6 on the year and 1-3 in ECC play while Molloy falls to 2-14 and 0-3 in conference contests this season.
Molloy held a 16-11 lead in the first set before the Mavs went on a 14-6 run to claim the opening game. Freshman
Shannon Wren (Lynbrook, N.Y.) posted six kills in the first set as Molloy hit .280 overall; consequently, Mercy hit .290 with junior Sa'Naya Johnson (Elizabeth, N.J.) also posting six kills but on a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage. The second set was a much different story for Molloy as the Lions posted a hitting percentage of .000. Five service aces from the Mavericks keyed a runaway stanza as Johnson continued to hit well enough to keep her team ahead. Sophomore setter Brooke Runge (Closter, N.J.) positioned herself well with 23 assists through the opening two games.
In the third set, freshmen
Sophia Smith (Georgetown, Texas) and
Devon Hagerstrom (Bethpage, N.Y.) were the catalysts to spark a major comeback to keep the maroon and white in the contest. Smith returned to the floor after missing the tail end of the first set and all of the second set with the Lions trailing by a 15-12 margin. She would capture several big kills towards the end of the frame and combine with Hagerstrom on the set-winning block to push the match to a fourth set. In that fourth set, however, Mercy started off with an 8-4 lead. The Mavericks ended the set with a .289 hitting percentage as sophomore outside hitter Peyton Olson (Albany, Ore.) emerged with a match-best 22 kills.
Olson hit .390 for the Mavericks and also posted 12 digs while Johnson had 13 kills on a .348 hitting clip. Runge ended the match with three kills and 45 assists as teammate Leah Petty (Philadelphia, Pa.) collected ten kills of her own. Libero Brianna Heffernan (East Islip, N.Y.) had a match-high 21 digs for the Mavs.
Wren led the Lions with 16 kills while Hagerstrom and
Danielle Williams (Alba, Texas) each added eight kills as well. Smith and
Hailey Wehr (Wading River, N.Y.) each had four kills in the effort; Smith also posted 17 assists while
Jeanne Reinis (La Mirada, Calif.) dished out 13 assists. Junior libero
Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, Calif.) had a team-best 14 digs as
Meaghan Carr (Mineola, N.Y.) added nine digs out of the back row. Williams,
Tara Carlin (Kings Park, N.Y.) and
Jessica Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y.) each contributed with eight digs.
Molloy will next be in action on Tuesday (Oct. 4) as the Lions face Queens College in Flushing, N.Y. at 7 p.m.
