THE MATCHUPS: Daemen College kicks off a five-match home stand this weekend when it plays host to Queens College and Molloy College in East Coast Conference women's volleyball action...Daemen will face Queens Saturday at 2 p.m and then host Molloy Sunday at 11 a.m...both matches take place in Lumsden Gymnasium.

THE COACHES: Mark Parisi is in his ninth year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen and owns a 134-150 (.472) career record...success has been the norm in recent years, as the Wildcats have averaged 21 wins a year over the past four seasons under Parisi's guidance...the program is coming off back-to-back seasons of 25-plus victories and last year posted a 27-10 record en route to a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship...Leanna Taylor is in her third season as head volleyball coach at Queens...Billy Corrao is in his third season as head volleyball coach at Molloy.

NCAA DIVISION II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Two of the NCAA Division II membership process...Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and will play full regular-season conference schedules beginning this fall...the College will also maintain its affiliation with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) for postseason opportunities, as it will not be eligible for the ECC or NCAA postseason during Candidacy Year Two.

THE HISTORY: The Wildcats have a limited history with their two opponents this weekend...Daemen will be meeting Queens for the first time ever, while it will be just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy...the Wildcats posted a 3-0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-21) victory over Molloy last year at Lumsden Gymnasium...it marked the 2012 season-finale for Daemen...Joanna Fretthold led the way with 12 kills and 18 digs in the final game of her outstanding career...Cassie Palmer had seven kills and 14 digs for Molloy.

THE WILDCATS (8-9; 2-5 ECC): Daemen returns nine players from last year's team that posted a 27-10 record and claimed the USCAA championship...Daemen was voted fifth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll...the Wildcats are ranked fourth in the USCAA poll released Oct. 11...juniors Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen), Lindsey Nowak (West Seneca, N.Y./Immaculata) and Chelsea Turcer (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) and seniors Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West) and Paige Tilert (Derby, N.Y./Genesee CC) top the list of returning players...Wang, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker, earned second team USCAA All-America honors last fall after posting 265 kills, a .362 hitting percentage and 119 blocks...Nowak, an outside hitter, ranked third on the team in kills (284) and fourth in blocks (51) last year...Turcer ranked second on the team in assists (538)...Vazquez totaled a team-high 761 assists last year and entered the 2013 season with 2,107 helpers...Tilert, a defensive specialist, recorded 401 digs (third on the team) a year ago...the Wildcats won six of their first nine matches this fall, but have gone 2-6 over their last eight...Daemen has lost four-straight matches--the first time it has dropped four-straight since August of 2010--and is coming off a 3-2 non-league loss at Edinboro this past Tuesday...three of the four losses have been five-set affairs, including a 3-2 loss to current ECC co-leader Bridgeport...additional league losses have come against LIU Post (3-1), NYIT (3-1), Dowling (3-2) and Mercy (3-1), while ECC wins have come over Roberts Wesleyan (3-0) and Dowling (3-1)...Wang was named ECC Player of the Week earlier this year and has recorded 10 or more kills in 15 of Daemen's 17 matches...she had a season-high 18 kills in a 3-1 win over Bloomfield and leads the team in kills (210), hitting percentage (.311) and blocks (69)...additional production has come from Vazquez (331 asts, 113 digs, 23 aces), Nowak (157 kills, 15 aces, 31 blks), Turcer (242 asts, 18 aces, 97 digs) and Tilert (284 digs)...senior Brittany Anthon (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) has totaled 61 kills and 81 digs over the past six matches and has registered double-digit digs in six-straight matches...she had a season-high 13 kills and added 12 digs in the 3-2 loss to Bridgeport and ranks third in kills (125) and second in digs (179) overall.

THE KNIGHTS (8-6; 2-4 ECC): Queens was picked eighth in the ECC preseason poll...the  Knights return six players from last season's squad that finished 3-24 overall (3-13 ECC)...Queens won seven of its first eight matches, but is 1-5 over its last six...the Knights play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday night before taking on Daemen Saturday...Queens snapped a five-match losing streak following a 3-0 win over Dowling on Oct. 10...QC's other ECC win came over Mercy (3-0), while league losses have come against Bridgeport (3-1), Molloy (3-1), LIU Post (3-1) and New York Tech (3-1)...sophomores Arielle DiCocco (148 kills, 77 digs, 24 blks) and Xhesi Domi (201 digs) and senior Ceren Kilic (8.10 assists per set, 121 digs) have paced the Knights...DiCocco had a season-high 16 kills in the loss to Bridgeport, while Kilic handed out a season-high 42 assists in a 3-2 loss to Chestnut Hill...junior college transfer Francesca Indoni had 14 kills and 16 digs in the loss to Chestnut Hill and has totaled 125 kills, 76 digs and 32 blocks...additional production has come from sophomores Else Buchmiller (79 kills, 29 aces, 107 digs) and Angela Kranz (110 digs, 26 aces).

THE LIONS (8-10; 2-3 ECC): Molloy was picked seventh in the ECC preseason poll...the Lions  return eight players from last year's team that posted an 8-21 record (6-10 ECC)...the Knights  won five of their first nine matches and have gone 3-6 since...Molloy opened ECC play with wins over Mercy (3-0) and Queens (3-1), before dropping three-straight ECC contests to New York Tech (3-0), Bridgeport (3-0)) and LIU Post (3-1)...the Lions snapped the slide with a non-league win over Pace (3-1) this past Tuesday, and play at Roberts Wesleyan Saturday before taking on Daemen Sunday...junior Sam Berna (168 kills, 129 digs), freshman Alley Stefanovski (330 asts, 23 aces, 117 digs) and senior Euginia Anthony (294 digs, 26 aces) have led the way...Berna had 17 kills and 14 digs in an early-season win over Philadelphia, while Anthony registered 26 digs in the win over Pace earlier this week...additional production has come from sophomores Cassie Palmer (135 kills, 35 aces, 124 digs) and Katie Gallagher (129 kills, 29 blks).

DID YOU KNOW?: Ye Wang ranks third among the ECC leaders in both kills per set (3.32) and blocks per set (1.10)...Paige Tilert ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in digs per set (4.40)...Tillert is three digs shy of 700 for her career...Brittany Anthon recorded her 700th career dig during Tuesday's loss to Edinboro...Chelsea Turcer stands 36 assists shy of 1,000 for her career...Kaley Vazquez is 62 assists shy of 2,500 career assists...Ye Wang recorded her 300th career block recently and stands 59 kills shy of 1,500 for her career.

ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 95 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 79 of the 95 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym...the Wildcats are 50-29 (.633) on the road since the start of the 2011 season and 11-5 in home matches during that time.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats continue their home stand next weekend when they host LIU Post  (Oct. 25) and New York Tech (Oct. 26) in ECC matches.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.