AMHERST, N.Y. – The D'Youville University Women's Volleyball team earned their biggest win of the season on Saturday evening after defeating #3 Mercy University 3-1 in the East Coast Conference Championship game. The win is the first East Coast Conference title in program history for D'Youville.

#4 D'Youville University 3 vs #3 Mercy University 1 – (25-17, 26-24, 23-25, 25-22)
Set One
The Conference title game started even between the Saints and Mavericks on Saturday with the lead going back-and-forth until the game tied at 11. The Mavericks took the two-point lead and managed to hold it until they led 17-15. A strong kill from Madeline O'Brien (East Amherst, N.Y. / Clarence) and a Maverick's error tied the game at 17. Cameron Ulinski (Parkland, FL / Marjory Stoneman Douglas) delivered the kill to put the Saints ahead 18-17. The Saints hit their stride putting up the next seven points in-a-row to take the 25-17 win in set one over the Mavericks. Ulinski, O'Brien, and Maddie Boglev (Hamburg, N.Y. / St. Mary's) all recorded kills in the seven-point run along with two service aces from Mitha Hatwar (Columbus, OH / Olentangy Liberty).

Set Two
The Saints offense stayed strong going into the second set as D'Youville jumped out to an 8-6 lead. The Mavericks managed to work their way back until the game tied at 14, but Alex Darby (Huntington, WV / Spring Valley) delivered a kill and a service ace to put the Saints back ahead by two. The Mavericks continued to fight their way back to tie the game and the Saints and Mavericks found themselves tied at 24. Alex Darby delivered another dominant kill to give the Saints the lead and a Mercy error paved the way for the Saints to take set two 26-24.

Set Three
The Saints were dominant to start the third set with the conference title in their sights. D'Youville opened with a 7-1 run featuring kills from Cameron Ulinski, Maddy O'Brien, and Giselle Ramirez (Miami, FL / School for Advanced Studies) along with a service ace from Emma Wlostowski (Alden, N.Y. / Alden). As gameplay continued, the Saints continued to climb, Wlostowski delivered another service ace followed by two Mercy errors to give the Saints the 19-8 lead. The Mavericks offense started to pick up as the score reached 22-14. Maddy O'Brien provided the kill to put the Saints ahead 23-14, but the Mavericks still had some fight in them. Mercy, needing a set win to stay alive, put together an eleven-point run to come back and take the third set 25-23.

Set Four
The matched moved into set four with D'Youville taking the 10-5 lead following kills from Alex Darby and Madeline O'Brien. The Mavericks again fought back tying the game at 10. Gameplay continued with the Mavericks and Saints fighting to take and hold the lead. With the game tied at 22, Giselle Ramirez delivered the service ace that gave the Saints the 23-22 lead. Mercy offered up another error and the final kill from Madeline O'Brien gave the Saints the 25-22 win in set four and the 3-1 win over the #3 Mercy University Mavericks for the East Coast Conference title.

Up Next
The D'Youville University Women's Volleyball team has earned a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament. The Saints will find out their seeding on Monday, November 25, 2024 at 7:30 PM as the NCAA Selection Show is released.