NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Daemen College women's volleyball team had a clean sweep against the Assumption College Greyhounds and the Georgian Court University Lions on their final day at the University of New Haven Charger Invitational to raise their overall record to 3-5 on the season. The Wildcats opened with intensity against the Greyhounds and won in three short games (25-14, 25-15, 25-18). That win was followed by a similar match against the Lions where Daemen finished the match, again in three sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-23). The Greyhounds fell 1-6 on the season after three tough losses this weekend. Georgian Court defeated Assumption and split today's matches to place their season record at 4-3.
The Wildcats opened today's competition with a solid win over the Greyhounds by finishing each game with a lead of no less than seven points. Daemen started with an intensity that did not fade as they won the five of the first six points of the match. Back-to-back kills by
Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) in the beginning of the first set gave the Wildcats an early advantage. Daemen acquired a six-point run and won five out of eight points to put them ahead 13-5.
Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen), who recorded her 1,000th career kill yesterday, ended the first set with a service ace.
Four out of the first five Daemen points in the second set came on kills by Drzymala. The Wildcats had a six-point run in the middle of the set where sophomore
Rachel Stephenson (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) was key. Winning 14 out of the next 18 points put Daemen up by ten, making the score 21-11 before a kill by sophomore
Jenna Reeser (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) closed out the set.
Daemen had another quick start by winning three out of the first four points to give them an important and early lead in set No. 3. This lead was followed by a three-point run where
Ashley Drzymala tallied a kill and an ace. The Wildcats went to win six out of the next seven points in order to give them a five point lead. The rest of the set was back-and-forth but again, Wang had the final word as she put down a smooth set from
Katie McKrell (Webster N.Y./Webster Schroeder). The Wildcats earned the majority of their points through tough offense as 53 of their points came from kills or aces and 22 points came from Greyhound errors.
The Lions were fierce in the first game, winning four of the first five points which left Daemen in a pinch to catch up. Daemen changed the pace of the game as they went on a six-point run to place them ahead 9-8. Drzymala was relentless with back-to-back aces during the run. The Wildcats won the final five points after a big kill from Wang in order to instill an early advantage.
Daemen began the second set by winning nine out of the first 11 points to give them an early seven-point lead. A five-point run that included two aces from sophomore
Alicia Contreras (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia) gave Daemen a nine-point edge over the Lions. Freshman
Karissa Hegens (Harker Heights, Texas/Harker Heights) ended the set with a kill.
Georgian Court took the lead early in the third set by taking advantage of Wildcat errors. Daemen bounced right back by earning five-straight points, placing the score at 5-3. This was the closest set of the day for Daemen as they went on to win by just two points. Drzymala led the Wildcats with 15 kills, 10 digs, five aces and an assist. For her efforts, the freshman outside hitter was named to the Charger Invitation all-tournament team.
The Wildcats will be back in action this coming Wednesday, September 16 with their home opener against Le Moyne College in Lumsden Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.
