AMHERST, N.Y.- The Daemen College women's volleyball team won its home opener against Le Moyne College in decisive fashion tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium, emerging victorious in straight sets, 25-18, 25-14, 25-22. The Wildcats did not trail in the first two sets, and gained a lead late in the third after a mostly back-and-forth final frame to close out the match.

The match opened with a long rally on the first point, a point that Daemen would win and use to set the tone for the rest of the set, and the match. A 1-0 lead turned into 4-0, then 7-2. From there, Daemen wouldn't look back, never holding a lead less than three points for the rest of the first set and finishing with a 25-18 opening set win.

The Wildcats took the momentum from the first set and used it to open the second in blistering fashion. Daemen jumped out to a 13-4 lead - a lead that would prove insurmountable for the Dolphins as the Wildcats coasted to a 25-14 second set victory.

The third set, however, had a decidedly different tone. Le Moyne grabbed their first lead of the match on the first point, and the Wildcats would not hold a lead of their own in the third until they earned a 7-6 edge after erasing two early Le Moyne advantages. From there, it was all back-and-forth until the two teams tied at 20-20. At that point, Daemen won the next two points to go up 22-20 and secure their final lead of the match. Le Moyne never got closer than a one-point deficit, and the Wildcats notched the final two points to win the third and final set 25-22 to secure a win in their 2013 home opener.

The foundation of Daemen's win was built on several strong performances, namely by Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West), Lindsey Nowak (West Seneca, N.Y/West Seneca), and Paige Tilert (Derby, N.Y. Gennessee CC). Vazquez led the team with 19 assists, and Tilert had a Wildcat-best 17 digs. Nowak came up with what was arguably the best performance for Daemen, notching 12 kills and an outstanding .455 hitting percentage. Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen), fresh off being named the East Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, had seven kills.

Natalie Casson and Megan Maisonet were the top performers for the losing Dolphins, who dropped to 6-6 on the season. Maisonet led Le Moyne with 22 assists, the most for any player in the match. Casson had what was arguably the Dolphins' best performance, with 8 kills and ten digs. Overall, Le Moyne was undone by their hitting, posting only a .061 hitting percentage.

The Wildcats have now won five straight, and are 6-3 overall. Daemen will open East Coast Conference play with a three-match road trip through Long Island, N.Y.  They'll be making stops along the way to take on conference rivals Long Island University Post (Friday, Sept. 27), New York Institute of Technology (Saturday, Sept. 28) and Dowling College (Sunday, Sept. 29).