THE MATCHUP: Daemen College hosts longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan College in East Coast Conference women's volleyball action...game time is 7 p.m at Lumsden Gymnasium.

THE COACHES: Mark Parisi is in his ninth year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen and owns a 138-150 (.479) 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...Jon and Kirsten Meyers are in their sixth year as head women's volleyball coaches at Roberts Wesleyan and entered the 2013 season with a 94-77 (.550) career record...they were named ECC Coaches of the Year after leading the Redhawks to a 20-12 overall record and a third-place showing (11-4) in the ECC last fall.

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: Daemen and RWC are former American Mideast Conference rivals, and both are currently transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division II...Daemen has dominated the series in recent years, prevailing in nine of the last 12 meetings…the Wildcats posted a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 23-21) victory over the Redhawks earlier this month at RWC in their first-ever meeting as ECC members…Ye Wang led the way with 14 kills (.400 hitting %), while Kaley Vazquez handed out 24 assists…Maggie Concannon (30 asts, 11 digs) and Jordan Wilson (9 kills) paced the Redhawks…the teams met twice last year and each team won on their home court...the Wildcats posted a 3-0 victory at Lumsden Gymnasium...Joanna Fretthold led a balanced attack with nine kills and 10 digs, while Kaley Vazquez added 17 assists...Maggie Concannon totaled 21 assists for RWC...the Redhawks answered with a 3-2 win at the Voller Athletic Center...the win snapped a four-match losing streak to the Wildcats...Alexa Antoni (20 kills, 20 digs) and Concannon (61 asts) paced the hosts...Jenn Karan (18 kills) and Vazquez (35 asts) led the Wildcats, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit but fell 15-7 in the fifth set.

THE WILDCATS: 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 were ranked fourth in the USCAA poll released Oct. 18...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...Daemen snapped a four-match losing streak (the first time it has dropped four-straight since August of 2010) with wins over Queens (3-1) and Molloy (3-0) a week and a half ago…the Wildcats ran their winning streak to four-straight matches after upset wins over LIU Post (3-1) and New York Tech (3-0) this past weekend…league losses have come against LIU Post (3-1), NYIT (3-1), Dowling (3-2), Bridgeport (3-2) and Mercy (3-1), while ECC wins have come over Roberts Wesleyan (3-0), Dowling (3-1), Queens (3-1), Molloy (3-0), LIU Post (3-1) and New York Tech (3-0)…Wang is a two-time ECC Player of the Week selection and has recorded 10 or more kills in 18 of Daemen's 21 matches...she had a career-high 20 kills in the 3-1 win over Queens and leads the team in kills (270), hitting percentage (.311) and blocks (76)...additional production has come from Vazquez (416 asts, 152 digs, 26 aces), Nowak (199 kills, 15 aces, 36 blks), Turcer (308 asts, 21 aces, 122 digs) and Tilert (342 digs)…senior Brittany Anthon (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) totaled 11 kills and 13 digs in the 3-1 win over LIU Post and ranks third in kills (154) and second in digs (208).

THE REDHAWKS: Roberts Wesleyan was picked third in the ECC preseason poll...the Redhawks return nine players from last year's team that posted a 20-12 record (11-4 ECC)...juniors Jordan Wilson and Kendall Havener both collected All-ECC honors last year, while setter Maggie Concannon was tabbed ECC Rookie of the Year...Wilson totaled 267 kills and 65 blocks last year, while Havener added 266 kills, 45 aces and a team-high 106 blocks...Concannon dished out 1,187 assists as a freshman...the Redhawks had a three-match winning streak snapped following a 3-2 loss to Molloy on Oct. 19 and suffered losses to New York Tech (3-0) and LIU Post (3-1) this past weekend…additional league losses have come against LIU Post (3-1), New York Tech (3-0), Daemen (3-0), Bridgeport (3-1) and Dowling (3-2)…RWC's two ECC wins have come over Mercy (3-2) and Queens (3-1)…Wilson recorded 17 kills in the win over Mercy…she has totaled a team-high 184 kills and leads the ECC in hitting percentage (.358)…Havener ranks second in kills (157) and has totaled a team-high 60 blocks...Concannon dished out a season-high 61 assists in the win over Mercy and is averaging 9.88 assists per set...sophomore Olivia Zureck has registered a team-high 219 digs, while senior Corey Phillips has contributed 114 kills, 134 digs and a team-high 21 service aces.

DID YOU KNOW?: Ye Wang ranks second among the ECC leaders in kills per set (3.49) and  third in blocks per set (99.)…Paige Tilert ranks third among the ECC leaders in digs per set (4.35)...Brittany Anthon ranks sixth among the league leaders in service aces (27)...Tillert recorded her 700th career dig during the win over Queens...Brittany Anthon recorded her 700th career dig during a recent loss to Edinboro...Chelsea Turcer recorded her 1,000th career assist during the win over LIU Post this past weekend..Kaley Vazquez recorded her 2,500th career assist during the win over LIU Post...Ye Wang recorded her 300th career block recently and recorded her 800th career kill during the 3-0 win over Molloy.

ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 99 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 79 of the 99 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 15-5 in home matches during that time.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen has been selected to participate in the USCAA championship tournament which will take place Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 on the campus of SUNY Canton...the Wildcats are the defending tournament champion…complete tournament details can be found HERE…the Wildcats will close out the 2013 season with four ECC matches after the USCAA Tournament…Daemen will host Mercy on Nov. 10, before capping the season with road games at Molloy (Nov. 15), Queens (Nov. 16) and Bridgeport (Nov. 17).

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.