LIVONIA, MI - The Daemen Wildcats were able to rebound from two tough losses yesterday to pull out back-to-back straight set wins in both their matches this morning to close out their participation in the 12th Annual Julie Martin Memorial Tournament hosted by Madonna University. The Wildcats bested Illinois Tech (25-21, 25-17, 26-24) before topping Rochester (MI) as well (25-17, 25-21, 25-18). The wins bring Daemen's overall record to 12-5.
"It was nice to be able to bounce back like that from two disappointing losses yesterday," said Daemen head coach
Mark Parisi. "Our ball control was excellent today. It is really the key to our success."
Sophomore
Jenn Karan (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park HS) was a force both offensively and defensively today as she pounded down 16 kills along with a team-best 27 digs in the two matches. For her efforts, Karan was selected to the All-Tournament Team by the event's participating coaches.
Karan hammered down 13 of her kills in the day's opening match vs. Illinois Tech. She did so in just 27 attempts and held an attack percentage of .259 for the match.
Freshman middle blocker
Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen HS) again loomed large for the Wildcats as she has done for much of the season. Wang contributed 19 kills on the day with an attack percentage north of .295.
Setters
Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West HS) and
Kimmie Mack (Livonia, NY/Livonia HS) accounted for 21 and 12 assists, respectively in the win vs. Illinois Tech.
Parisi gave Vazquez a rest in the next match vs. Rochester and freshman
Chelsea Turcer (Alexander, NY/Alexander HS) filled in admirably with a career-high 13 assists. Mack set the table for a team-best 15 helpers in the match.
The Wildcats also got key contributions from junior
Joanna Fretthold (11 kills, 21 digs) and freshmen
Lindsey Nowak (nine kills) and
Samantha Snyder (19 digs).
The Wildcats return to the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium to face Mercyhurst College (PA) of NCAA Division II this Tuesday, September 13 at 7pm.
