Box Score
AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's volleyball team gave their home crowd a rousing send-off, continuing their recent home dominance with a straight-sets defeat (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) of the visiting Mercy College Mavericks to win their home finale. The Wildcats concluded their slate of home matches with wins in each of their last six at Lumsden Gymnasium, and have now won their last 13 overall. That 13-match streak includes a flawless 7-0 run last week at the United States College Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championships, which ended with Daemen as USCAA National Champions for the second year in a row.
The victory gives Daemen a 21-9 overall record for the season, and an 8-5 mark in East Coast Conference play on the year, while Mercy slipped to 11-18 overall and 2-12 in ECC competition.
The opening set was a mostly back-and-forth affair, until Daemen broke things open with the score tied at 16. From there, Daemen would go on to win nine of the final 14 points for a 25-20 first-set win. The second set would play out in similar fashion, as the two teams nearly point-for-point the whole way, until at 19-19 the Wildcats went on a 6-3 run to close out the frame at 25-22 to build a 2-0 lead in sets.
Using the momentum built from their wins in the opening sets, Daemen went on a blistering 12-4 run early in the third frame to build an insurmountable lead at 17-8. From there, the Wildcats would coast to a 25-17 set win to close out their straight-sets victory over the Mavericks.
Big games by seniors Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West), Brittany Anthony (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) and Paige Tilert (Derby, N.Y./Lake Shore), as well as juniors Chelsea Turcer (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) and Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen) bolstered Daemen's efforts in the win.
Vazquez (23 assists) and Tilert (20 digs) paced the Wildcats in their respective categories, while Anthon posted a double-double with 10 digs and a team-leading 13 kills. Turcer added 13 assists, second only to Vazquez's 23, while Wang had 9 kills, including three in four points during the final set to help cement the victory.
McKenna Ronan, Brenna White and Mallorie Hopkins were the top performers for Mercy College in the loss. Ronan led the Mavericks with 19 assists, Hopkins paced the team with 15 digs, and White notched a double-double with 12 digs and a team-leading 11 kills.
The win also provided a bittersweet moment for Vazquez, Tilert, Anthon, Morgan Waple (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) and Kaitlin Watchey (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown), all of whom are seniors. Today was their final home match as members of the Daemen Wildcats volleyball team, but they did get to end their last match at Lumsden Gymnasium with one final victory.
Daemen will now close out the 2013 season with three consecutive conference road matches. Next up is a showdown with the Molloy College Lions on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. Molloy is currently 9-18 on the season, and 3-11 in ECC competition.
