MIDDLETOWN >> The Mercy volleyball team bounced back from a loss against Cheshire last Friday night with a 25-17, 25-14 and 25-23 Southern Connecticut Conference win Monday against Foran.
“I was real proud of them tonight,” said Mercy coach Sarah Kelly. “We had a rough game against Cheshire and it’s tough to come back against a good team after a big loss. I was really happy with our spirit and positivity tonight and how we stayed focused on what we were doing.”
Foran (7-4), which dropped a 3-2 decision against Mercy in Milford on Sept. 18, entered the match having won five of their last six games. But the Lions fell behind early in the first two games and never recovered.
“It was frustrating,” said Foran coach Julie Johnson. “Mercy played great and my team was just flat today.”
Behind the hitting of senior Fallon Bevino and junior Janae Owen, the Lions tried to extend the match by taking a 21-20 lead in Game 3. But Mercy senior Morgan Cahill (six kills) came up with a huge middle block after a nice dig from Shytasia Williams and with the score tied at 23, Cahill found the corner with a kill for a 24-23 advantage.
“We played as a team and we worked hard,” said Cahill. “I was happy with our unity out there. We really trusted each other on the court more than we did on Friday. We powered through.”
Mercy took a 9-4 lead in Game 1 on the strength of Williams’ terrific serving. Abby Nagy reeled off six straight service points, including an ace, to give the Tigers a 6-0 cushion in Game 2.
Tigers senior setter Jessica Hoops had 22 assists. Nagy had eight kills, Mackenzie Dugan had six kills and junior Fran Basadonna had 14 digs.
“Jessica Hoops really ran a good offense tonight so that was awesome,” said Kelley.
The Tigers, who also lost to the defending SCC champion Rams earlier this season, improved to 9-2.
“We had a big talk on Sunday at practice and talked about playing as team and being united,” said Kelley. “We were playing as six people on the court and tonight we finally put it together as 14 people on a team.”
