Volleyball Finishes Last In Conference
The Lady Mavericks, just coming off a disappointing loss to Southern Connecticut State only a day earlier, suffered a brutal ending to their already disappointing season, losing another heartbreaker at home against Bridgeport. Although all three matches were cited as being extremely competitive and close, the Mavericks seemed to have lacked that extra finishing factor that often times plagued them within each of their 26 losses. With only three wins on the year and often a lack of crowd support, some could speculate if there is any light in sight. McKenna Ronan believes there is. The sophomore setter, who has now been with the team for the past two seasons, showed a sign of hope in the wake of Mercy College’s poor season. “We lack consistency. Its what killed us the most. Anyone who would watch our games could see that we weren’t a bad team and that we had talent. We just couldn’t keep up that aggressive playing throughout the whole game.” While echoing what most players think of their own team during a losing season, Ronan is actually telling the truth. In almost all of their 29 games played this year, including their last two games against Southern Connecticut State and Bridgeport, the Mavericks showed signs of resilience and intensity that gave spectators the impression that Mercy College was a school to be feared. However, much like what Ronan pointed out, that intensity would constantly fluctuate throughout the duration of every game, leaving the Mavericks with a lack of identity in all phases of play. The Mavericks will also be losing three of their seniors: Casey Phillips, Marissa Hurley, and Carolina Abreu, leaving the team to a young, yet experience, and hopefully hungry cast of volleyball players. Ronan isn’t intimidated by the poor season. The second year player from Chandler, Arizona posted 800 assists this season, and cited that the keys to a successful volleyball season lies within the teams overall effort and chemistry. “When things went well, we clicked excellently and had our goals in mind. When thing went badly, we just couldn’t get on the right page with one another which led to issues that cost us the game. What we can do to avoid this is make improvements to ensure that we are thinking the same during game play and back each other up.” Spoken like a true sportsman. Also returning to the team are Brenna White, who posted 442 kils and 238 digs, Nicolette Gebhardt, who recorded 264 kills, and Mallorie Hopkins, who totaled 286 digs. The team was coached by Taneisha Cantave in 2012. The Mercy Athletic website currently has the position listed as open. Now readying themselves for the spring season, in which Mercy will be entering two different tournaments, the Mavericks are looking to implement their new found morale and game dynamic into their playing with hopes of contending for a first place conference finish in the near future.