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Sports

Our Lady of Mercy Volleyball Sweeps St. Dominic, 3-0

Mercy volleyball wins their first game of the season at home.

The Mustangs hosted the Bayhawks in the season opener. St. Dominic’s has definitely been improving over the years and came into Mercy’s gym ready to play.

Mercy started off the first game very slow. “St. Dom’s came off very strong and I think we were a little intimidated at first,” said head coach Tara Kuhn. Mercy couldn’t seem to find a rhythm in the first game.

Seniors Jamie Catone and Olivia Walsh both played well at the net offensively. Their strong spikes and bursts of energy helped propel the team to a 3-0 victory over St. Dominic.

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During preseason, Kuhn made sure her team was in great physical shape for the season. The passers in the back had a quick first step which allowed them to get in position to pass the ball up to the setters. They may have started slow, but they were resilient in all three games.

Hero: Mercy’s slow start in the first game was carried over into the second game but as long as Mercy’s libero Sophia Michaelides was in the back, the game seemed to be moving smoothly.

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It seemed that Michaelides was always in position and able to make the perfect pass to the setter. She also used her quick step to recover balls and keep them in play.

Turning Point: After losing the first game, St Dominic came out to start the second game strong once again. With Mercy leading 11-10, Kuhn put Michaelides in to serve. She served seven straight points and Mercy finally gained and sustained their momentum.

Quotable: “We are taking from this game that every team is competitive,” said Kuhn. “We need to start off stronger and end stronger.”

Bottomline: As the season progresses, Mercy is going to have to learn to start the game with more composure. They also need to attack more.

Walsh and Cotone did a good job and even got some help from underclassman Christina Johnson, but the rest of the team needs to remember to attack the ball with a strong approach and follow through.

Key Stat: In the three games, Mercy committed 27 unforced errors. The team needs to cut this down if they want to have a successful season. This allows the weaker teams to hang around and next time Mercy may find themselves on the other end of a 3-0 game.

Who’s next: Mercy @ St. Mary’s, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Teams …………………………1…………...2…….…….3
Our Lady of Mercy………..25………….25…….…..25
St. Dominic's…………..…..17………….11……...…17

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