Tom Salus

Women's Volleyball

No. 2 D’Youville Upsets No. 1 Mercy to Claim the 2026 ECC Women’s Volleyball Championship

No. 2 D'Youville – 3 | No. 1 Mercy – 1 | (22-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23)
Judge Athletic Center | Dobbs Ferry, NY
Box Score
 
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – No. 2 D'Youville (17-13, 8-4 ECC) took down top-seeded Mercy (25-2, 12-0 ECC) 3-1, in the 2026 ECC Women’s Volleyball Championship Final at Mercy’s Judge Athletic Center in Dobbs Ferry, NY on Saturday evening. The Saints claim their program’s second ECC Women’s Volleyball title with the win.
 
The first set was tightly contested. Mercy went up 7-4 to start the match, but then D’Youville scored five straight to take a 10-7 lead, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Madeline O’Brien and Giselle Ramirez and a service ace from Gabrielle Dials. With the Saints up 21-16, the Mavericks stormed back, scoring nine of 10 points, to take the first set 25-22.
 
Sets two and three were all D’Youville, as the Saints never trailed in either to go ahead 2-1. The second set was the most lopsided on the scoreboard but Mercy kept it close throughout. It wasn’t until late in the set with D’Youville ahead 15-14, that the Saints would outscore Mercy 10-4 down the stretch to close out the set 25-18.
 
With the match even at 1-1, D’Youville kept riding the momentum of the second set into the third set, scoring the first seven points that capped off with a kill by O’Brien. The Saints extended the lead to 10-2 and then 14-7. The Mavs trailed throughout but pulled within two points late at 21-19, but once again D’Youville outscored Mercy 4-2 to snag the 25-21 win and take a 2-1 lead.
 
Needing to win the next two, Mercy responded with a quick 6-1 lead to start the fourth. Down 9-6, D’Youville put together a 6-1 rally that put the Saints up 12-10 after consecutive service ace by Ramirez. The set would go back and forth, with six ties and five lead changes. With Mercy ahead 22-18, the match seemed prime for a fifth set, but D’Youville had other plans. Led by five kills from Cameron Ulinski, the Saints outscored the Mavs 7-1, giving them the 3-1 upset win and the championship title.
 
D'Youville Notes
  • Ulinski led the Saints with a game-high 23 kills and added seven digs, one service ace and a block.
  • O’Brien was second on the team with 10 kills and had four digs.
  • Ballou paced the offense with 31 assists and had three service aces.
  • Angelyn Jaramillo was the team leader in digs with 11 and she also contributed three service aces.
  • Dials finished her night with 10 digs and three service aces as well.
  • D’Youville wins its second ECC Championship title over the past three seasons, winning it all in 2024 additionally.
  • D’Youville snapped Mercy’s 17 match winning streak and became the first ECC team to top the Mavs in 2026.
  • During the postgame awards ceremony, Ulinski was honored as the 2026 ECC Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
 
Mercy Notes
  • Stasa Stamenkovic had a team leading 12 kills, while also having nine digs, and three aces.
  • Grace Dilena ended the night with a double-double of 11 kills and 12 digs to lead the squad.
  • Adriana Rivera Rodriguez anchored the offense with 25 assists and chipped in with seven digs.
  • Mia Illes-Hair was a force at the net logging seven blocks and adding six kills.
 
D’Youville earns the ECC automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, November 15 at 10:00 PM on NCAA.com. Regionals will take place Thursday–Saturday, November 19-21 and Friday-Sunday, November 20-22.
 
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Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women’s bowling (3), men’s and women’s indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men’s lacrosse (1).

The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; and men's and women’s volleyball.
 
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.