BROADWAY, N.Y. (September 7, 2011) - Bloomfield College head coach Talita Silva earned the first victory of her collegiate coaching career Wednesday evening, as the women's volleyball team moved to 1-0 on the season with a 3-0 road victory over non-conference opponent Mercy College. 

The Lady Deacons quickly took control of the action in the first set, mounting a 5-1 advantage and maintaining the cushion until the frame's latter stages.  Mercy would eventually claw back to even the score at 24 and put Bloomfield on the brink of a 1-0 deficit by taking the lead on the next point.  But a costly service error gave the Lady Deacons new life, and the visitors were able to take advantage.  A kill by Daliana Perez (Jersey City, NJ) put Bloomfield on top 27-26 three points later, and a Mercy attack error gave Bloomfield the hard-fought 28-26 victory.

It would be more of the same in the second set, this time the Flyers controlling the pace in the early going.  Mercy would hold a slim lead until the latter stages of the stanza, the Lady Deacons eventually drawing even at 22 with a kill by Clodesh Marie Montano (Carolina, Puerto Rico).  A Montano ace gave Bloomfield a 23-22 lead, and after the Flyers tied the score at 24, the Lady Deacons would rally to notch the final two points of the set to take a 26-24 victory and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set would again prove to be a seesaw battle, with neither team leading by more then three points over the course of the frame.  Mercy would again grab an early advantage, but the Lady Deacons would eventually claw back to even the score at 14.  A quick 3-0 run would give the visitors a 17-14 lead, but the home team would remain within striking distance, knotting the score at 22 and threatening the hopes of a Bloomfield sweep.  But the Lady Deacons would again close out the set and squash the hopes of a Mercy comeback, with kills by Montano and Perez icing a 25-23 victory to take the match three sets to none.

Montano led Bloomfield with 12 kills, also notching five digs and a service ace, while sophomore Dominic Spivey (Newark, NJ) posted seven kills and an ace.  Brandi Bodin (Clara City, MN) led the defensive effort with 11 digs, while Perez turned in a solid all-around effort with three kills, and nine digs.  Junior Da'Cheray Thomas (Newark, NJ) rounded out the offensive attack with five kills in the victory.

"I'm extremely proud of the way our girls played tonight," Silva said after picking up her first victory as Bloomfield's head coach.  "We were able to fight back and win each set with the scores close, which says a lot about our team.  I'm happy we've gotten off to a good start, and hopefully we can keep it going."

Bloomfield returns to action Wednesday, September 13, when they travel to CACC North Division foe Dominican College to open their 2011 conference schedule.  Start time for the match is set for 7:00 PM.