Friday, Sept. 27
Daemen vs. Long Island University Post, 7 p.m.
Pratt Recreation Center, Brookville, N.Y.
Live stats are available HERE

Saturday, Sept. 28
Daemen vs. New York Institute of Technology, 12 p.m.
Recreation Hall, Old Westbury, N.Y.
Live video is available HERE; live stats are available HERE

Sunday, Sept. 29
Daemen vs. Dowling College, 12 p.m.
Dowling Gymnasium, Oakdale, N.Y.

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College women's volleyball will open the East Coast Conference portion of its schedule when it heads to Long Island, N.Y. to face regional powers LIU Post, New York Tech and Dowling...all three teams advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last year...action gets underway Friday night when the Wildcats visit LIU Post for a 7 p.m. match...Daemen will then head to New York Tech Saturday and close out the trip at Dowling on Sunday...the NYIT and Dowling matches both begin at noon.

THE COACHES: Mark Parisi is in his ninth year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen and owns a 131-144 (.476) 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...Shellane Ogoshi is in her sixth season as head women's volleyball coach at LIU Post and entered the 2013 season with a 74-57 (.565) career record...a standout setter for Hofstra, she was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in 2005 and was a three-time All-CAA selection...Gail Wasmus is in her 28th season as head volleyball coach at NYIT...she entered the 2013 season with a career record of 503-363 (.581) and ranked 13th in career wins among active NCAA Division II coaches...the 2010 ECC Coach of the Year, she has guided the Bears to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons (8 total appearances)...Kevin DesLauriers is in his first season as head volleyball coach at Dowling...he previously served as an assistant coach at Stony Brook and as head coach at LIU-Southampton.

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 three opponents this weekend...Daemen will be meeting both LIU Post and Dowling for the first time ever, while it will be just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and New York Tech...the Wildcats defeated NYIT last year during a tri-match at Roberts Wesleyan...Daemen dropped the first set 27-25, before winning the next three (25-22, 25-21, 25-14) to secure the win...Lindsey Nowak led the way for Daemen with 16 kills...Shelby Cable had a match-high 23 kills for NYIT.

THE WILDCATS (6-3, 0-0 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 13th in the first USCAA poll released Sept. 20...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 last weekend...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 Wednesday night...Wang was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Yellow Jacket Invitational after she posted 53 kills, 18 blocks and a .430 hitting percentage over the four matches...she was also named to the all-tournament team following a Courtyard by Marriott Invitational...for the season she leads the team in kills (108), hitting percentage (.354) and blocks (30)...additional production has come from Vazquez (158 asts, 55 digs, 13 aces), Nowak (81 kills, 11 aces, 29 digs, 12 blks), Turcer (113 asts, 12 aces, 47 digs) and Tilert (150 digs)...junior Brittany Anthon (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) had 12 digs in the win over Le Moyne and ranks third in kills (57) and second in digs (76).

THE PIONEERS (8-3, 1-0 ECC): LIU Post was picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll...the Pioneers return eight players from last year's team that posted a 23-15 record (11-5 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament...senior Makamae Namahowe collected second-team All-ECC honors last year after leading the team in kills (381) and ranking second in digs (553)...the Pioneers opened the season with wins over Stonehill (3-0), New Haven (3-1) and Wilmington (3-1) during the New Haven Invitational...LIU Post ran its winning streak to four-straight following a 3-0 win over Davis & Elkins, before suffering two-straight losses to Cal.-Pa. (3-0) and Clarion (3-1)...the Pioneers rebounded with another four-match winning streak (including a 3-0 ECC win over Roberts Wesleyan), before suffering a 3-2 loss at rival Adelphi this past Tuesday...freshman Shelby McCool totaled a season-high 15 kills in the loss to Adelphi and has posted a team-high 111 kills thus far...Namahoe had 20 kills in a 3-1 win over Shepherd last weekend and has totaled 106 kills and 156 digs...junior setter Lulu Centro is averaging 10.15 assists per set, while sophomore Rachel Ringor has totaled a team-high 205 digs.

THE BEARS (10-0, 1-0 ECC): New York Tech was picked second in the ECC preseason poll...the Bears return 10 players and four All-ECC performers from last season's squad that finished 22-10 overall (12-4 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament...seniors Shelby Cable, Savannah Donarski, Marija Javanovic and Katarina Sretnovic all earned all-conference honors last fall...Cable also earned AVCA honorable mention All-America honors after leading the team in kills (433) and ranking second in digs (299)...NYIT is a perfect 10-0 on the season, losing just seven sets along the way...the Bears swept through the Wilmington College Invitational last weekend, posting wins over Holy Family (3-2), Le Moyne (3-0), Wilmington (3-0) and Adelphi (3-2)...NYIT opened ECC play with a 3-0 win over Roberts Wesleyan last Sunday, and is coming off wins over Pace (3-0) and American International (3-1) earlier this week...Cable has recorded double-digit kills and digs in six of the 10 matches and leads the team in kills (127) and digs (117)...Donarski had 16 kills in a 3-2 win over Saint Rose and has totaled 112 kills...Jovanovic handed out 48 assists in the win over Saint Rose and is averaging 10.22 assists per set...additional production has come from Sretnovic (105 kills, .355 hitting %) and junior transfer Taylor Pulley (109 digs).

THE GOLDEN LIONS (9-5, 0-0 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 enters the weekend as winners of three-straight and six of its last seven matches...the Golden Lions defeated Saint Anselm (3-0), Merrimack (3-0) and Southern New Hampshire (3-1) and lost to Lynn (3-0) during the Merrimack Warrior Invitational last weekend...Dowling is coming off a 3-2 win over New Haven Tuesday...sophomore Jessica Kalbfleisch had a season-high 19 kills in the win over New Haven and leads the team in kills (114)...sophomore Kayla Dillman recorded 67 assists against New Haven and is averaging 8.15 assists per set...additional production has come from sophomore Kayla Morgan (155 digs) and freshman Katarzyna Klocek (82 kills, 31 blks)...Klocek is the reigning ECC Rookie of the Week.

HONOR ROLL: Ye Wang was named ECC and USCAA Player of the Week following her performance at the American International Yellow Jacket Invitational last weekend...she amassed double-digit kills in every match, leading Daemen to four straight wins...for the tournament, she totaled 53 kills and also posted a .430 hitting percentage with 18 blocks...she was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for her efforts.

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 17-5 against NCAA Division II opponents since the start of the 2013 season.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to action Wednesday (Oct. 2) when they travel to Roberts Wesleyan College for an ECC match...game time is 7 p.m...Daemen's next home game is set for Friday, Oct. 4 when it hosts Dowling in an ECC match...game time is 7 p.m. at Lumsden Gymnasium.

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.