BUFFALO, N.Y. - The D'Youville University Women's Volleyball Team defeated the Mercy University Mavericks 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at home.

D'Youville University 3 vs Mercy University Mavericks 2 – (19-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-11)
First Set
The Saints were the first to take the lead on Sunday, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. The Mavericks were quick to come back, but the Saints held on leading 17-14 after a service ace from Mitha Hatwar (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) and a kill from Isabelle Prentice (Bainbridge, Wash./Bainbridge). The Mavericks put together a nine-point comeback to take the lead and scored the final two points to win 25-19.

Second Set
The Mavericks controlled the majority of the second set, but the Saints managed to tie the game at 15 after an error by the Mavericks and a kill from Brianna Damstetter (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors). The Saints fought hard to stay in the game, but the Mavericks offense held strong and would take set two 25-21.

Third Set
The Mavericks again jumped out to the early 9-3 lead in set three and continued to hold it as the Saints slowly worked their way back. With Mercy up 17-12, Isabelle Prentice had a kill to put them within four. The Mavericks were call on an error and Eve Musielak (Eden, N.Y./Eden) delivered back-to-back kills followed by back-to-back service aces from Madeline O'Brien (East Amherst, N.Y.) to take the 18-17 lead. After giving up two, the Saints went on to score five more and two Mavericks errors gave the Saints the 25-23 win to keep the match alive.

Fourth Set
The fourth set was quickly tied at 5 and Musielak delivered back-to-back kills to give the Saints the lead they would hold for the rest of the set. The Mavericks fought their way back to a 1-point deficit, but the Saints applied the pressure with five consecutive kills in a row followed by a Mercy error to take the 14-7 lead. The Saints offense stayed consistent while their defense never allowed Mercy to come back, and Mitha Hatwar delivered the final kill to take set four 25-17.

Fifth Set
After taking the previous two sets, the Saints forced Mercy into the fifth winner-take-all set. Mercy quickly gained the advantage jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Isabelle Prentice and Eve Musielak worked to tie the game at nine, but the Mavericks immediately took the lead back, going up by one.

Again, the set tied at 11 and the Saints went up by one on a Mercy error. Madeline O'Brien put the Saints up by two and Samantha Killane (Vero Beach, Fla. / Lincoln Park Academy) delivered back-to-back service aces to give the Saints the 15-11 win in set five and the 3-2 match win over Mercy.

Up Next
The D'Youville University Women's Volleyball Team looks to carry this momentum into their next game on Friday, October 27th against ECC opponent Roberts Wesleyan at 7:00 PM.