AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College volleyball players
Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) and
Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen) were each named to the All-East Coast Conference second-team, and Drzymala was named the league's Rookie of the Year today. The official announcement was made between the two ECC Tournament semifinal matches occurring tonight at the University of Bridgeport, and was followed up with a
press release from the conference headquarters in Central Islip, N.Y. Wang and Drzymala were two of the 16 ECC student-athletes who earned All-ECC accolades following a vote of the league's nine head coaches.
Drzymala, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, made a profound impact in her freshman campaign for the Wildcats, leading the team in kills (360), kills per set (3.60), total attacks (981), service aces (51) and service aces per set (0.51), while also ranking third in digs (249), digs per set (2.49) and total blocks (28). Despite missing the final two matches of the season with an injury, Drzymala ended the regular season among the ECC leaders in kills (third), kills per set (second), total attacks (fourth), service aces (second), service aces per set (first), digs (18th) and digs per set (20th).
Drzymala appeared in 100 sets this season, playing in 27 of the team's 29 matches. She racked up 12 double-doubles, 10 of which came in her final 13 matches of the season. She was named ECC Rookie of the Week four times, tying her with Giulia Genna from Long Island University Post for the most selections of any ECC rookie. Drzymala earned those honors for the periods of
September 8-13,
October 5-12,
October 13-19 and
October 20-25.
After totaling 23 kills in the first four matches of career, Drzymala went on to notch double-figure kills in 21 of her next 23 matches. She put down a career-best 24 kills in Daemen's come-from-behind defeat of Le Moyne College on September 16, helping the Wildcats' overcome a 2-0 deficit in sets in the team's 2015 home opener. She would go to match her career-high kill total in another five-set win, this time on the road versus Long Island University Post on October 10, while adding a career-best 18 digs.
Drzymala's 360 kills this season are the most for a Daemen freshman since Wang posted 300 in her rookie campaign back in 2011. With today's announcement, she becomes the first Daemen volleyball player to garner a major postseason award from the ECC since joining the league in 2013.
Wang, a 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker, returned to the lineup this season after red-shirting in 2014, and she did not disappoint. Despite missing the final two matches of the season with an injury, Wang led the team in hitting percentage (.331) and total blocks (78), while also ranking third on the team in total kills (245), kills per set (2.53) and total attacks (543). She ended the regular season ranked among the ECC leaders in hitting percentage (second), total kills (16th), kills per set (16th), solo blocks (first), total blocks (seventh) and blocks per set (fifth).
Wang was downright dominant in back-to-back five-set wins at home over Molloy College (October 2) and Queens College (October 3), collecting 35 kills and 12 blocks while attacking at a .400 clip. Those matches kick-started a season-long streak of five-straight matches with double-figure kills, and she went on to total 10 such matches this year.
It's the second all-league accolade for Wang who earned first-team All-ECC honors in 2013. She recorded the 1,000th kill of her career earlier this season, surpassing the milestone during a three-set loss to Post University on September 11 at the Charger Invitational hosted by University of New Haven. She closes her stellar career with 442 sets played, 1,207 total kills, a .331 hitting percentage and 423 total blocks. In her four seasons on the court, Wang led the Wildcats to an 88-52 overall record, including a 22-9 mark at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium.
The efforts of Drzymala and Wang helped a young Daemen team to a 12-17 overall record, and a 7-9 mark in the ECC which placed them tied for fifth in the final regular season standings.
Losing just Wang and fellow middle blocker Mackenzie Knihinicki (Lakeview, N.Y./Frontier) to graduation, the Wildcats are set to return players responsible for 80-percent of their kills, 99-percent of their assists, 97-percent of their service aces and 96-percent of their digs from this past season.
The other major awards announced by the ECC today included Player of the Year, Libero of the Year and Setter of the Year. Junior outside hitter Katarina Krstonosic of regular-season champion Bridgeport was named the ECC Player of the Year. LIU Post's Rachel Ringor earned ECC Libero of the Year honors for the second time in her career, and lastly, Allison Fowler of N.Y. Institute of Technology has been selected as the ECC Setter of the Year.
