ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's volleyball team will conclude the 2019 campaign this weekend with a pair of road contests. First, on Friday a rematch with the Golden Eagles of Clarion University, before less than 24-hours later squaring of against Slippery Rock University in the final contest of the season.
Scouting the Lakers:
Mercyhurst sits at 15-12 overall and 7-9 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play. The Lakers went 1-1 last weekend dropping a hard-fought five-setter to Pittsburgh-Johnstown on Thursday, prior to defeating IUP a day later in four.
Alyssa Zirnheld posted double-digit kills in both matches, while
Tess Ganich accomplished that feat on Thursday with
Katie Baird doing the same thing Friday. Setters
Mary Marusza and
Claire Kenny were responsible for handing out 36 assists versus UPJ, while dishing out 44 helpers against IUP.
Hannah Vuylsteke was the team leader in digs recording 45 between the two contests. On the season Baird and Zirnheld have both recorded over 200 kills, while Ganich is knocking on the door of that mark at 199. Other team leaders are aces (Vuylsteke 39), assists (Marusza 469), and blocks (
Leah Kern 64).
LAKERS at Clarion
Date - Friday, November 15
Time - 7 pm
Location - Clarion, Pa. (Tippin Gym)
Media -
Watch and Stats
Series History - Clarion leads 13-3 (Golden Eagles won last match 3-0 on 10/26/19 in Erie)
Scouting the Golden Eagles - Clarion comes in at 18-10 and 10-6 in the PSAC. They are coming off a 3-0 win over Slippery Rock on Tuesday and have won five of their last six. As a team they post just over 13 kills and 12 assists per set, while defensively they rack up just short of two blocks to go along with 16.9 digs. Julia Holden is the leader in the nest with 438 kills, 28 aces, and 59 blocks. Aubrey Wrona and Holly Pittman also aid in the attack with over 200 kills each. Wrona leads the side in aces as well with 48. On the other end of the court Lauren Aichinger has 93 blocks to lead the team. Head Coach Jennifer Herron is in her 13th season at Clarion.
LAKERS at Slippery Rock
Date - Saturday, November 16
Time - 1 pm
Location - Slippery Rock, Pa. (Morrow Field House)
Media -
Stats /
Watch
Series History - Hurst leads 10-7 (Rock won the last match 3-2 on 11/3/18)
Scouting the Rock - Slippery Rock's record sits at 7-21 and 2-14 in conference. They have dropped their last 14 games heading into their matchup against Edinboro on Friday before facing the Lakers. The Rock post a .144 attack percentage averaging 10.9 kills per set. At the other end of the court they put up 18.1 digs and 1.8 blocks per frame. Kaley Fucci leads the side with an even 200 kills. Abigail Koeller has 197 kills to go along with 252 digs and 15 aces. Abigail Nigon has been strong at the net posting 79 blocks. Zoe Rivet has been the top Rock player on the service line with a team-high 43 aces. Head Coach Laurie Lokash is in her 36th year at the helm of Slippery Rock.
