WEST HAVEN, Conn. — Mercyhurst (8-14, 4-6 NEC) defeated New Haven (10-14, 6-4 NEC) 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 25-27, 25-19) on Friday. The Lakers finished with 53 kills and a .226 hitting percentage while limiting New Haven to 37 kills and a .057 mark.
Mercyhurst claimed the first set 25-21 after New Haven cut the margin to 22-20 late. Earlier, the Lakers traded points through a 7-7 start, using kills from
Anna Logan,
Madison Miner,
Julia Shepherd,
Mia Mattingly,
Roslyn Guerra and
Ava Carney before
Ava Carney's kill and
Alyssa Krause's ace made it 9-7. The Lakers built a 14-9 lead on a Miner kill and consecutive Shepherd kills, all assisted by
Alyssa Krause, and
Payton Melin added two kills as the Lakers stayed in front into the later stages. New Haven narrowed a 19-15 score to 19-18, but Guerra, Shepherd and Mattingly answered with kills, and Miner teamed with Mattingly on a late block before serving the final ace.
The Lakers took control of the second set early and finished it with a 25-17 win. Logan opened with back-to-back kills assisted by Krause, and Shepherd and Carney combined on two blocks as the Lakers built a 7-2 lead.
Mya Comer added a service ace for a 9-3 advantage, but New Haven worked back to 13-10 before the Lakers steadied the set with Logan ace and later a Shepherd kill. Leading 16-14, Mercyhurst created separation behind another Comer ace and blocks involving Mattingly and Miner, moving ahead 20-14. Mattingly, Guerra and Carney added late kills before Krause closed the set with a service ace.
The Lakers forced the third set beyond 25 by tying the score at 24-24 and 25-25, but New Haven took the final two points to hand the Lakers a 27-25 setback. Earlier, the Lakers answered a 3-1 deficit by winning five of the next six points, with Shepherd and Mattingly adding kills and
Kelsie Gaiter-Davis serving an ace in the push to a 6-4 lead. After New Haven moved ahead 14-12, Mercyhurst responded again with blocks involving Mattingly, Miner and Shepherd, plus another Gaiter-Davis ace, to go in front 17-15. New Haven later scored four straight points to lead 22-19, but Guerra, Shepherd and Logan delivered kills and Miner teamed with Carney on a block as the Lakers came back to extend the set before New Haven finished it.
Mercyhurst overcame an early 2-1 deficit in the fourth set, getting two kills from Carney before Miner, Gaiter-Davis and Shepherd helped push the lead to 6-3. After New Haven moved within 7-6, Miner answered with a kill, and the Lakers later stretched the margin to 12-7 during
Mia Mattingly's service turn with help from a Guerra kill and two New Haven attack errors. Melin, Guerra, Shepherd and Miner added kills through the middle of the set, and the Lakers steadied the set after New Haven closed to 19-16 with a Mattingly kill, a Carney-Guerra block and a New Haven setting error. Guerra added a late kill from
Sydney Forcht, Carney put the Lakers ahead 24-17, and a New Haven service error closed the Laker's 25-19 set win.
Shepherd led the Lakers with 13 kills and 15 points while hitting .455 and adding four block assists. Mattingly finished with seven kills, a team-high seven total blocks and 12.5 points. Krause recorded 25 assists, a team-high 15 digs and two service aces. Miner added nine kills, 11 digs, four block assists and 12 points.
The Lakers return to the court when they travel to Chicago to take on Chicago State on Friday, Nov. 6. Coverage is set to begin at 6 p.m.
