WALTHAM, Mass. – ECC Player of the Year Gabriela Bieniek,
who was earlier this week named to the AVCA and D2CCA All-East Region First Teams, boasted 24 kills, including four late in the fifth set, to lift No. 3 Mercy to a 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 15-8) over No. 6 Molloy in the 2025 NCAA Women's Volleyball East Region Championship First Round up at Bentley on Thursday afternoon. With the win, the Mavericks (21-4) now advance to face the winner of No. 2 Adelphi/No. 7 Holy Family (playing at 2:00 PM this afternoon) in the 2025 NCAA Women's Volleyball East Region Championship Second Round tomorrow, December 5, at 4:00 PM.
Box Score
Bieniek’s 24 kills came on 58 attempts as Mercy hit 25.9 percent as a team. Coming off of an ECC Championship run where she was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Grace Dilena, who was earlier this week named to the AVCA All-East Region First Team and D2CCA All-East Region Second Team, added 14 kills with 11 digs while ECC Setter of the Year Adriana Rivera Rodriguez, who was earlier this week named to the AVCA All-East Region First Team, totaled a match-high 38 assists and 12 digs.
Kamila Colon turned in a match-high 14 digs while Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentes posted six blocks and numerous kills at key times.
Molloy, who closes the season 18-10 overall, was led on the attack by Erin Stanley (14), Julia Zalta (13), and Isabella Rios (10), who combined for 37 of Molloy’s 49 kills on the afternoon. Zalta, who was earlier this week named an AVCA All-East Region Honorable Mention, added 18 assists and seven digs, Hayden Riddle recorded a team-high 19 assists, Haven Trechter battled for a team-high 11 digs, and Teresa Moulder added a team-high six blocks.
Trailing by five late in the first set, Molloy strung together five consecutive kills that began and ended with Zalta to take a 19-18 edge.
Mercy equalized on Bieniek’s fifth kill of the match, 19-19, but the Lions went on a key 5-1 run that included kills by Rios and Ilaria Micol Chiericati and a pair of service aces to take a promising 24-20 advantage. The Mavericks inched to within two, but Riddle set up Zalta, who put away her fourth kill of the match to give Molloy the opening-set win, 25-22.
Molloy took advantage of nine Mercy miscues to take an 11-10 edge midway through the second set, but the Mavericks turned on the jets to outscore the Lions, 15-6, the rest of the way en route to a 25-17, second-set win to equalize the match, 1-1. Dilena (3). Bieniek (2), and Rodriguez Fuentes (2) combined for seven kills during that run.
The third set was a nailbiter to the finish as Mercy led 23-21 late. Back-to-back kills by Stanley and a service ace put the Lions ahead, 24-23, but a kill from Bieniek and a subsequent block from Bieniek and Rodriguez Fuentes put the Mavs back on top, 25-24.
From there, Molloy gritted out three straight points, as Stanley and Moulder came up with a block, Trechter boasted a crucial kill, and a service ace closed the third set in favor of the Lions, 27-22.
A key 9-3 run in the middle of the fourth set allowed Mercy to hold Molloy at arms length en route to a 25-20, fourth-set win to set up the finale.
Molloy led 7-6 in the fifth, but Mercy would then take over. Rivera Rodriguez set up Mia Illes-Hair and Bieniek for back-to-back kills befor Kori Sessions and Illes-Hair came up with a block.
A Molloy attack error and a Mercy service ace gave the Mavericks a four-point lead, 11-7, and ECC Player of the Year Bieniek then went off for three consecutive kills in the final five plays as the Mavs took the fifth-set victory, 15-8, and put away the Lions, 3-2, for the fourth time this season.