Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.

THE MATCHUP: The Daemen College women's volleyball team closes out its home schedule by hosting Mercy College in an East Coast Conference match…game time is 11 a.m…live streaming video can be accessed HERE.

SENIOR SALUTE: Sunday's match will mark the final home game in the careers of seniors Brittany Anthon (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), Paige Tilert (Derby, N.Y./Lake Shore), Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West), Morgan Waple (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) and Kaitlin Watchey (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown)...all five will be honored during a pre-game ceremony.

THE COACHES: Mark Parisi is in his ninth year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen and owns a 146-150 (.493) career record...success has been the norm in recent years, as the Wildcats have posted three-straight 20-win seasons and have averaged 24 wins a year over the past three seasons…this past weekend he guided the Wildcats to their second-straight United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship...Kelly Wengerter is in her first season as head volleyball coach at Mercy...a 2005 graduate of Lock Haven, she previously served as head coach at American International College and New Jersey City 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: Daemen and Mercy met for the first time ever last month at Mercy and the Mavericks posted a 3-1 victory (25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 28-26) over the Wildcats…Brenna White led the way with 22 kills…Nicolette Gebhardt (18 kills), McKenna Ronan (46 asts) and Mallorie Hopkins (22 digs) also produced…Ye Wang totaled 16 kills and five blocks for Daemen, while Brittany Anthon added 12 kills and 16 digs.

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 have reached 20 wins for the third-straight season…Daemen claimed its second-straight USCAA championship this past weekend and enters Sunday's action riding a 12-match winning streak…the streak included back-to-back wins over ECC powers LIU Post (3-1) and New York Tech (3-0) two weeks ago…additional ECC wins have come over Roberts Wesleyan (3-0, 3-2), Dowling (3-1), Queens (3-1) and Molloy (3-0), while league losses have come against LIU Post (3-1), NYIT (3-1), Dowling (3-2), Bridgeport (3-2) and Mercy (3-1)…junior Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen) has been named ECC Player of the Week twice this season and has recorded 10 or more kills in 23 of Daemen's 29 matches...she averaged 3.89 kills per set during the USCAA Championships and was named Tournament MVP…a two-time USCAA All-American, she had 19 kills in a 3-1 win over Florida College in the USCAA championship game and leads the team in kills (363), hitting percentage (.343) and blocks (92)…junior Lindsey Nowak (West Seneca, N.Y./Immaculata) had a season-high 17 kills in the USCAA championship game and has totaled 263 kills and 42 blocks…senior Brittany Anthon (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) totaled 11 kills and a season-high 20 digs in a 3-2 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 29 and ranks third in kills (206) and second in digs (285)…senior Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West) and junior Chelsea Turcer (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) have managed the offense…Vazquez totaled 26 assists in the USCAA title game and has totaled a team-high 555 assists to go along with 37 aces and 187 digs…Turcer had a season-high 26 assists in the recent win over RWC and has totaled 428 assists…seniors Paige Tilert (Derby, N.Y./Genesee CC) and Kaitlin Watchey (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown) and freshman Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) have also produced…Tilert has recorded double-digit digs in 24 of the last 25 matches and ranks third among the ECC leaders in digs per set (4.67)…she equaled her season-high for digs (30) in the USCAA championship match and was named to the USCAA all-tournament team after averaging 5.8 digs per set over the seven matches…she also ranks third on the team in service aces (29)…Watchey is a one-time ECC Player of the Week selection and has totaled 170 kills and 56 blocks…Drzymala has played in 24 of the 29 matches and has totaled 113 kills, 228 digs and 28 service aces…she established season-highs for kills (10) and aces (5) and also recorded 18 digs in the recent win over RWC.

TWICE AS NICE: Daemen claimed its second-straight USCAA National Championship last weekend…the Wildcats lost just two sets during their seven wins and capped off the run with a 3-1 victory over Florida College in the championship match…it was a rematch of last year's title game, which Daemen also won by a 3-1 score…the Wildcats dropped the first set of the title match (24-26), before answering with a 25-20 win in set two…Daemen outlasted the Falcons 26-24 in the pivotal set three, and then claimed the title with a commanding 25-17 win in set four…Ye Wang was named Tournament MVP and Paige Tilert was named to the All-Tournament team…a complete tournament recap can be found HERE.

THE MAVERICKS: Mercy was picked ninth in the ECC preseason poll...the Mavericks return eight players from last season's squad that finished 3-26 overall (0-15 ECC)...Mercy played .500 volleyball (8-8) over the first half of the season, but has won just three times over its last 11 matches…Mercy plays at Roberts Wesleyan Saturday before taking on Daemen Sunday…the Mavericks snapped a four-match losing streak following a 3-1 win over Dominican this past Monday and are coming off a 3-1 win over Bloomfield Thursday...Mercy's league losses have come against Queens (3-0, 3-1) Molloy (3-0), LIU Post (3-0, 3-0), NY Tech (3-0, 3-1), Roberts Wesleyan (3-2), Dowling (3-1) and Bridgeport (3-0), while its two league wins have come over Daemen (3-1) and Molloy (3-0)…juniors Brenna White and McKenna Ronan and senior Mallorie Hopkins have paced the Mavericks...White was named ECC Player of the Week earlier this year and has totaled a league-high 449 kills...she also ranks second on the team in digs (268)…she recorded 27 kills and 12 digs in the win over Dominican earlier this week...Ronan totaled 46 assists in the win over Dominican and is averaging a team-high 9.17 assists per set...Hopkins has totaled 20 or more digs in a match 12 times this year and leads the ECC in digs per set (4.76)…Hopkins and Ronan also lead the team and rank sixth among the ECC leaders in service aces (34)…additional production has come from senior Nicolette Gebhardt (248 kills), sophomore Sonia Morales (147 kills, 84 blks) and senior Kirste Zubiate (214 digs)…Gebhardt had a season-high 25 kills in the win over Bloomfield Thursday night and has averaged 4.63 kills per set over the past four matches.

DID YOU KNOW?: Mercy's Brenna White leads the ECC in kills per set (4.40) and Daemen's Ye Wang ranks second (3.58)…Wang also ranks third among the ECC leaders in hitting percentage (.343) and blocks per set (0.91)…Mercy's Mallorie Hopkins leads the ECC in digs per set (4.76) and Daemen's Paige Tilert ranks third (4.67)…Kaley Vazquez ranks fourth in the conference in service aces (37), while Brittany Anthon ranks sixth (34)…Tillert and Anthon both recorded their 800th career dig during the USCAA Tournament...Chelsea Turcer recorded her 1,000th career assist during the win over LIU Post…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 900th career kill during the USCAA Tournament…she has totaled 928 career kills and stands 72 kills shy of 1,000 for her career.

ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 107 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 86 of the 107 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym...the Wildcats are 57-29 (.662) on the road since the start of the 2011 season and 16-5 in home matches during that time…Daemen has won its last five home matches and is 6-2 at home this season.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats will close out the 2013 season next weekend 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.