Dowling vs. Daemen
Friday, Oct. 4, 2013
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Bridgeport vs. Daemen
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College women's volleyball team will play its first-ever East Coast Conference home matches when it takes on Dowling College and the University of Bridgeport this weekend...Daemen will face Dowling for the second-straight weekend on Friday at 7 p.m...the Wildcats will then host the Purple Knights Saturday 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 134-146 (.478) 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...Kevin DesLauriers is in his first season as head women's volleyball coach at Dowling...he previously served as an assistant coach at Stony Brook and as head coach at LIU-Southampton...Leo Uzcategui is in his fifth season as head women's volleyball coach at Bridgeport and entered the season with a career record of 106-24 (.815)...he has led the Purple Knights to four-straight NCAA Division II Tournament titles and one (2011) NCAA Regional championship...he was named ECC Co-Coach of the Year following his first season as at UB in 2009...he previously served as head coach at Central Connecticut State and Florida Atlantic University.
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 very limited history with their two opponents this weekend...Daemen will be meeting Dowling for just the second time, and will be facing Bridgeport for the first time ever...the Wildcats defeated Dowling in the first-ever meeting between the schools last weekend at Dowling...it marked Daemen's first-ever ECC victory...the Wildcats took the first two sets (25-20, 25-18), before Dowling stayed alive with a 25-20 win in game three...the Wildcats secured the win with a 25-22 win in set four...Ye Wang led the way with 17 kills, seven digs and five blocks...Elizabeth Gorman had 12 kills for Dowling.
THE WILDCATS (8-5; 2-2 ECC): Daemen returns nine players from last year's team that posted a 27-10 record and claimed the USCAA championship...Daemen is ranked fifth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll...the Wildcats are ranked third in the USCAA poll released Sept. 27...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 opened the 2013 season at the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational hosted by Lynn University...Daemen suffered losses to Saint Leo (3-1) and UPR-Mayaguez (3-1), before posting a 3-0 victory over Fort Valley State...the Wildcats suffered a 3-0 loss to Lynn in their tournament finale...the Wildcats bounced back with an impressive showing at the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by American International College...Daemen swept through the weekend with wins over Bloomfield (3-1), AIC (3-0), East Stroudsburg (3-0) and Pace (3-0)...Daemen ran its winning streak to five-straight matches following a 3-0 win over Le Moyne in its home-opener on Sept. 25...the Wildcats dropped two of three matches during a trip to Long Island, N.Y. this past weekend, losing to LIU-Post (3-1) and New York Tech (3-0) and defeating Dowling (3-1)...the win over Dowling marked Daemen's first-ever ECC victory...the Wildcats evened their league record to 2-2 after sweeping past Roberts Wesleyan Wednesday night...Wang had 14 kills in the win over RWC Wednesday and leads the team in kills (159), hitting percentage (.329) and blocks (43)...additional production has come from Vazquez (235 asts, 81 digs, 18 aces), Nowak (115 kills, 13 aces, 37 digs, 19 blks), Turcer (170 asts, 13 aces, 71 digs) and Tilert (217 digs)...senior Brittany Anthon (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) had 11 kills and 14 digs in the win over Dowling and ranks third in kills (80) and second in digs (125).
THE GOLDEN LIONS (9-7; 0-2 ECC): Dowling was picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll...the Golden Lions return nine players from last season's squad that finished 20-15 overall (8-8 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament...Dowling has appeared in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments and placed third overall in 2010...first-year head coach Kevin DesLauriers must overcome the graduation of 2012 ECC Player of the Year Bethany Shepard and 2012 ECC Libero of the Year Morgan Mutranowski...Shepard accounted for a team-high 583 kills last year and also recorded 322 digs...Mutranowski recorded a team-high 454 digs...Dowling won just three of its first seven matches, but is 6-3 over its last nine matches...the Golden Lions had a three-match winning streak snapped following a 3-1 loss to Daemen last weekend at Dowling, and is coming off a 3-1 loss to Bridgeport on Tuesday...sophomore Jessica Kalbfleisch had a season-high 19 kills in a 3-2 win over New Haven and leads the team in kills (130)...sophomore Kayla Dillman recorded 67 assists against New Haven and is averaging 8.36 assists per set...additional production has come from sophomore Kayla Morgan (195 digs) and freshman Katarzyna Klocek (99 kills, 35 blks).
THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (3-1; 2-0 ECC): Bridgeport is the defending ECC Tournament champion and was picked first in the 2013 ECC preseason poll...the Purple Knights return eight players from last year's team that posted a 27-5 record (15-1 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament...the Purple Knights have been one of the premiere programs in the region in recent years, advancing to the NCAAs in each of the past five seasons...juniors Biljana Savic, Larissa Oliveira and Ying Shen all return after earning All-ECC honors last year...the Purple Knights hosted Zhejiang University of China in three exhibition matches last month, before opening the regular-season by winning three of their first four matches...UB defeated Queens (3-1), Southern New Hampshire (3-2) and Dowling (3-1) and lost to Franklin Pierce (3-2)...the Purple Knights play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday night before taking on Daemen Saturday...sophomore Sarah Rosa had 16 kills and 16 digs in the win over Dowling and has totaled a team-high 54 kills and 40 digs...Shen ranks second in kills (51) and leads the team in digs (57)...additional production has come from Oliveira (30 kills, 18 blks), Biljana (118 asts, 32 digs) and junior Michele Santos (39 digs).
HONOR ROLL: Ye Wang was named to the weekly ECC honor roll on Monday after totaling 44 kills during a 2-2 week...she totaled 17 kills, seven digs and five blocks in a 3-1 win over Dowling on Sunday--Daemen's first-ever ECC victory.
DID YOU KNOW?: The Wildcats went 11-2 against NCAA Division II opponents last fall in what was the College's first year of NCAA Division II candidacy...Daemen is 19-7 against NCAA Division II opponents since the start of the 2012 season...Ye Wang ranks second among the ECC leaders in kills per set (3.59) and ranks third in hitting percentage (.329)...Paige Tilert ranks third among the ECC leaders in digs per set (4.77)
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 91 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 77 of the 91 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym...the Wildcats are 50-27 (.649) on the road since the start of the 2011 season and 11-3 in home matches during that time...Daemen currently owns a six-match home winning streak.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to action next Friday when they travel to Mercy College for an ECC match...Daemen's next home match is set for Saturday, Oct. 19 when it hosts Queens College at 2 p.m.
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.
