Mount Mercy Academy Sports Round-Up
Soccer
The injury bug has hit the Mount Mercy Academy Soccer team and has impacted the team’s offense. Playing without two-time Division B Player of the Year Rosie Bandura (West Seneca) has hurt the team’s offense.
The team was shut-out in both of its contests last week, losing despite playing tough defense in both games. The team lost to Mount Saint Mary 1-0 and Niagara Falls 2-0. The team will play Buffalo Seminary this week, the team’s Senior Game and close its regular season with a non-league game against Sacred Heart.
Volleyball
The Mount Mercy Academy Volleyball team won one and lost two of its most recent matches. The team defeated Cardinal O’Hara, but fell to Mount Saint Mary and Nichols.
The Magic beat Cardinal O’Hara in three games, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-23. The team was missing some of its more experienced players during this match, but the younger team members stepped up. Sophomore setter Mara McCrea (West Seneca) continued her strong play, contributing ten assists, two aces and two kills. Senior Megan Balen (Cheektowaga) had six kills and classmate Lacey Sheehan (Orchard Park) added five kills, two aces and an assist. Sophomore Riley Coughlin (Blasdell) had four kills and two aces and junior Mia Freedenberg (Lake View) added three kills and three aces.
“The team stayed ready in defense and played every ball and their energy and communication were strong,” commented Coach Lauren Derwin.
The team battled hard against Mount Saint Mary, but fell 21-25, 17-25 and 16-25. McCrea had another strong match, notching nine assists and recording four aces. Sheehan added seven kills and a block, ace and assist. Freedenberg had nine aces and a kill. Balen had three kills. Derwin complimented McCrea’s setting, Sheehan’s front row play and Freedenberg’s serving as high points for the Magic. She also felt the team’s defense had improved from their first match against Mount Saint Mary. Mount Mercy came out flat in games two and three against Nichols. The team fell just short in game one 23-25 but dropped the next two 8-25 and 7-25. Derwin lamented the team’s lack of energy
and communication in the last two games of the match. McCrea had seven assists, Balen had six kills and an ace and Freedenberg had six aces. Sheehan added three aces and three blocks, along with two kills. The team closes its home season with two matches this week, Nardin Academy and Sacred Heart Academy. The team’s Senior Night is Friday against Sacred Heart.
Reading this round-up really highlights how much resilience student athletes need, especially when key players like Rosie Bandura are missing through injury. The fact that the soccer team held strong defensively despite being shut out shows real character from the whole squad. The volleyball section was particularly detailed and it was great to see younger players like Mara McCrea stepping up so confidently when the experienced squad members were absent. As a student who also tries to balance sport commitments alongside coursework, I have leaned on academic support in Last Minute resources more than once when training schedules made it impossible to meet deadlines on time. Senior Night matches always carry a special energy wishing the Magic all the best for…
Excel was never my strongest subject, and when my course introduced data dashboards and macro functions, I hit a wall. I had three assignments due in the same week and couldn't manage them all independently. I used Excel assignment help for the toughest one, and the quality blew me away. The file was clean, logical, and built exactly to the specifications in my brief. What stood out was the added commentary explaining each section that's what made the difference for my learning. Since then, I've reused that approach for my own work. My grades have never been better than now.
Really tough week for the Mount Mercy squads, but that defensive discipline and the younger players stepping up is exactly what builds a championship culture! Fingers crossed for Rosie’s quick recovery and hoping the Magic channel all that early-game energy into their upcoming Senior Night matchup. When I'm not tracking stats from the bleachers, I always unwind after a long sports schedule with a quick, focused session of arrow puzzle to clear my head. Go Magic! 🏐⚽️
It’s tough seeing the soccer team struggle without Rosie Bandura, but their defense sounds solid. I’ve been trying to organize game footage for highlights and needed a way to handle subtitle formats—SRT to VTT conversion would make sharing those with parents much simpler. Hope the Magic finish strong in their final games!
Such a great update! It’s always so inspiring to see the girls at Mount Mercy Academy balancing their passion for sports with such a heavy academic load. The grit they show on the field really translates to the classroom, especially in tough subjects like the social sciences where the workload can get pretty intense. I’ve actually seen some of the girls sharing resources and looking for help with psychology assignment free study guides just so they can stay ahead of their prep while traveling for games. It really shows their commitment to being true student-athletes. Go Magic!