ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In front of a large homecoming weekend crowd the Roberts Wesleyan women's volleyball team picked up their first win of the season defeating East Coast Conference opponent Mercy, 3-0.
 
"We executed the game plan," said head coach Doug Porterfield. "We got a glimpse of the potential in how we can play as a team."
 
It wasn't an easy straight set victory for Roberts. In both the second and third sets the Redhawks had to rally back and string offensive runs together to keep the score tight. In the second set the Redhawks fell behind 19-14 before going on an 8-1 run to grab a 22-20 lead. During that stretch the freshman of the team stepped up in a big way. Kathryn Krchniak subbed in and had two kills, setter Nikki Simmonds added a kill and Grace Detwiler added an ace. Another kill by Krchniak, a Mercy attack error and a kill by Kristina Button closed out the set win for the Redhawks.
 
A 25-13 third set win was led by senior setter Elisabeth Rivera. The Garden Grove, Calif. native opened the set with three aces in the first four points scored for Roberts. Rivera added one more ace later on to make the score 16-7 and also dished out eight assists in the set.
 
The Redhawks defense made a stand in the final set as well. Back-to-back blocks helped Roberts extend the lead to 18-7. Button was credited with two block assists while Emily Rowlison and Krchniak picked up one block assist a piece.
 
Button finished the match with a team-high 11 kills and three blocks. Rivera totaled five aces and 20 assists. Freshman Grace Detwiler had 15 digs.
 
Roberts Wesleyan (1-15, 1-1 ECC) continue conference play on Wednesday when they face off against i90 foe Daemen. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Voller Athletic Center.