Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LIVONIA, NY - The Daemen Wildcats took a split of their matches today on day two of the BLT Sportswear Crusader Classic hosted by Madonna University to move to 17-8 on the season. Daemen opened the day with a straight set victory over USCAA #2 Rochester College (25-19, 25-20, 26-24), in a preview of a match that may occur in two weeks time at the USCAA National Championships. Following that, the Wildcats suffered their second five-set defeat to a highly ranked NAIA team in as many days as #7 Embry-Riddle (FL) rebounded from an 0-2 hole to win the match (25-20, 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 6-15), sewing up a perfect 4-0 record to take home the Crusader Classic Championship.

Senior outside hitter Joanna Fretthold (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) led the way with 12 kills in the win over Rochester. Sophomore Lindsey Nowak (Hamburg, NY/Immaculata) added nine kills while junior Jenn Karan (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) chipped in with eight.

Junior Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West) set her way to 20 assists while sophomore Chelsea Turcer (Alexander, NY/Alexander Central) added 12. The Wildcats also got fine defensive play out of senior Katie Auge (Salamanca, NY/Salamanca) and junior Paige Tilert (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) who split 20 digs between them, helping Daemen limit Rochester to a Team hitting percentage of just .129.

Then came the showdown with the highly-touted Eagles of Embry-Riddle. Daemen appeared poised to pull out the victory after attacking at a .397 clip in the first two sets, winning those by scores of 25-20 and 25-15.

Embry-Riddle got themselves back in it with a 25-21 win in the third set. Perhaps Daemen's best chance to close out the match came in the fourth set - a set that featured 21 ties and 10 lead changes. The teams were never separated by more than two points in the set. Fretthold tied the set at 23-23 with a kills but the Eagles responded with the final two points of be set, tying up the match at two sets apiece.

The deciding set saw Embry-Riddle take 10 of the first 15 points and they were able to cruise past a tired Wildcat squad 15-6.

Fretthold again led the way for Daemen with 21 kills and 20 digs while earning All-Tournament Team honors.

Karan was next with 18 kills while Nowak added 16 and a team-best .364 hitting percentage.

Turcer came through with a career-high 31 assists while Vazquez notched 30 along with 19 digs.

Daemen returns to action with a date against Mercyhurst College of NCAA Division II on the road this Tuesday, October 23.