As one door is nearly closed, another has opened. The Mercy basketball teams jumped into action this week, beginning their journeys to the ECC tournaments. It’s a season full of revenge for these programs; women’s basketball is looking to avenge their upset loss last year to No. 6 seed Queens in the first round and the men’s team will try and respond from their six-win season in 2022. There is certainly enough motivation to go around.

Welcome to the Roundup.

The volleyball crew wrapped up their regular season this week, moving up to No. 3 in the ECC after winning their last five straight games. The Mavs escape a consecutive semi-final matchup with the overpowered Daeman Wildcats, but will still face a tough Molloy team on the road to advance to the conference title game.

Katie Wall is the gift that keeps on giving

The last dance for Katie Wall in the navy and gray is already off to a blazing start. The electric guard earned ECC Player of the Week honors after rallying the Mavericks to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2017. Mercy picked up wins over St. Anselm and Southern Connecticut State in their opening weekend of play, boosting the confidence of a team with quite a bit of new faces on the scene.

Wall exploded in the season opener on Saturday, posting a career-high 40 points along with eight rebounds in the Mavs’ narrow 62-58 win over St. A’s. It was a back and forth contest for four quarters until a dagger three-pointer from the graduate student put the game away with two minutes to play. That’s just a speckle of the greatness we’ve seen in five years from No. 3.

Mercy was right back to work on Sunday as they traveled to Southern Connecticut State, walking away victorious as they topped the Owls 53-43. The Mavericks were powered by a 26 point performance from Katie Wall and 14 points and seven rebounds from junior Jaclyn Stanavich. Stanavich started and played significant minutes in the last three games for the Mavs last year and is expected to have a much elevated role in her third season.

Next up for the Mavs is a matchup against Bloomfield on Wednesday and then a trip to Long Island to play Adelphi on Saturday. You learn a lot about a team by how they fare against out of conference opponents, making these first seven games of the season a good test for this year’s squad.

Men’s Hoops trying to piece it together

Mercy men’s basketball is off to a rough start to their 2023 season, dropping their first three games of the year. The Mavs have struggled defensively as they’ve given up 110+ points in three consecutive games.

The team traveled to Caldwell for their first game this past Friday and lost a tough one, 114-82. Mercy had a difficult time from three point territory in this one, shooting 25% from beyond the arc compared to the Cougars’ 43%. Third Team All ECC selection Jayden Dewaal led the team with 22 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Alex May had 16 points and four assists in his first game on the court since February of 2022. 

Dominican came to Westchester for Mercy’s home opener on Sunday, which they came away with a 112-87 win over the Mavericks. The team was within nine points of the Chargers at halftime until Dominican stretched their lead by 16 in the second half. May posted a team-high 18 points and Sean Conroy contributed 15 points himself.

The drought continued on Monday night when the Mavs traveled to Felician for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. Felician beat Mercy by a score of 124-98 after dominating the first half of play. The Golden Eagles erupted for a 35 point lead after the first half and cruised their way to victory in the second. On the bright side for the Mavericks, Jayden Dewall had a stellar 32 point game and Garrett Kirkland was exceptional around the perimeter, hitting 7-16 of his attempts from distance.

Another three games are on tap this week for the team to find their groove. Mercy hosts Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday and then heads to St. Thomas Aquinas for back to back matches against Goldey-Beacom and Post this weekend. 

We got playoff volleyball in Westchester

The opportunity to compete in the conference tournament is an accomplishment itself, but the program is tired of participation trophies around here. Mercy has reached the postseason for a fourth consecutive year but has still yet to reach the championship game in that span. The Mavs remember the feeling of going home early last season, and now a chance at redemption is right in front of them.

Mercy has been playing their best volleyball down the stretch, winning their last five games and only dropping one set in that span. The team cleaned up American International and St. Thomas Aquinas this week, winning both games 3-0. The Mavs swept the weekly conference awards, as Julia Pomerleau was named ECC Player of the Week, Aitza Cruz earned Defensive Player of the Week, Yarianne Gonzalez took Setter of the Week, and Mia Illis-Hair received Rookie of the Week honors.

Exactly the mojo they wanted heading into their playoff contest. 

These two teams met twice this season already, with Mercy and Molloy taking a win each. Their first matchup in September featured a Maverick victory over the Lions, 3-1. Molloy answered with a 3-0 win against Mercy in the second match three weeks ago, making the playoff rubber match just that much more exilerating. It’s a better matchup for the team I believe. The Mavericks would have played No. 1 Daeman for a consecutive postseason matchup had they stayed as the No. 4 seed. Mercy dropped both contests against the Wildcats this year so getting the Lions instead may play in their favor.

There’s a wealth of experience, talent, and coaching coming to meet Molloy on Friday. In only Ana Todorovic’s second year on campus, it feels like the time to break through is now. All the pieces are in place and now it’s time to go win a volleyball game.

The team will travel to Molloy on Friday for the highly anticipated match at 7:30 p.m.