THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team heads to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. this weekend for an East Coast Conference match against Mercy College.
Saturday, Oct. 25
Daemen at Mercy - 11 a.m.
Maverick Gymnasium, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
THE COACHES: Mark Parisi is in his 10th year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen…he recorded his 150th career victory following a 3-0 victory over Mercy College on Sept. 28 and owns a 150-174 (.463) career record. Success has been the norm in recent years, as the Wildcats have posted at least 23 wins in each of the last three seasons and have claimed back-to-back (2012, 2013) United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championships...Kelly Wengerter is in her second 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.
MOVE TO II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process. Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and began playing full regular-season conference schedules last 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 Three.
THE HISTORY: Daemen and Mercy will be meeting for just the fourth time this weekend…the Wildcats have prevailed in two of the previous three meetings…Daemen posted a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) victory over the Mavericks last month at Lumsden Gym…Jenna Reeser (12 kills, 10 digs) and Amber Drzymala (10 kills, 11 digs) both recorded a double-double to lead the way…Brenna White totaled a team-high 10 kills for Mercy…the teams met for the first time ever last season…the Mavericks posted a 3-1 victory (25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 28-26) at Mercy, before the Wildcats answered with a 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) victory at Daemen.
THE WILDCATS (1-23; 1-10 ECC): Daemen returns 10 players from last year's team that posted a 23-10 record and claimed its second-straight USCAA championship...Daemen went 10-6 in the competitive East Coast Conference last fall and was voted third in the ECC preseason poll this year…graduation took its toll with the loss of the team's top setter and defensive specialist, and Parisi must also overcome the loss of middle blocker Ye Wang who has decided to red-shirt the 2014 season…a two-time USCAA All-America selection, Wang also earned first-team All-ECC honors last fall after leading the team in kills (397) and blocks (97)…seniors Lindsey Nowak and Chelsea Turcer and sophomore Amber Drzymala top the list of returning players…Nowak was a first-team USCAA All-America selection last fall after ranking second on the team in kills (296) and third in blocks (38)…Turcer ranked second on the team in assists (487), third in service aces (38) and fifth in digs (164)…Drzymala played in 28 of 33 matches as a freshman and totaled 263 digs, 144 kills and 32 service aces…newcomers Katie McKrell, Jenna Reeser and Jakki Steck have all made an immediate impact…the Wildcats opened ECC play with losses to Roberts Wesleyan (3-0), Dowling (3-0) and Bridgeport (3-0), before posting a 3-0 league win over Mercy on Sept. 28…the Wildcats are coming off losses to Roberts Wesleyan (3-0), Bridgeport (3-0) and Dowling (3-0) last week…Nowak has recorded double-digit kills 14 times this season and had a career-high 21 kills in a 3-2 loss to Kutztown…she leads the team in kills (237) and ranks second in blocks (27) and ranks fifth in digs (73)…Drzymala had a career-high 22 kills and a season-high 21 digs in the 3-2 loss to Kutztown…she leads the team in digs (227) and service aces (30) and ranks second in kills (211)…McKrell had 63 assists in the five-set loss to Kutztown and has totaled a team-high 440 assists…she also ranks fourth in digs (86)…additional production has come from Turcer (203 digs), sophomore Ryanne Dugan (126 assists), Reeser (134 kills, 22 blocks) and Steck (77 kills).
THE MAVERICKS (4-19; 0-10 ECC): Mercy was picked ninth in the ECC preseason poll...the Mavericks return eight players from last year's team that posted an 11-20 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the ECC…senior Brenna White returns after totaling 507 kills and 311 digs and earning second team All-ECC honors last fall…the Mavericks enter Saturday's match having lost seven-straight games…Mercy suffered league losses to LIU Post (3-0) and New York Tech (3-0) last week and is coming off non-league losses to Bloomfield (3-0) and New Haven (3-0) earlier this week…White had 17 kills in the loss to LIU Post and has totaled a league-high 394 kills…she has also contributed 241 digs and a team-high 25 aces…additional production has come from freshman Sa'Naya Johnson (120 kills), senior McKenna Ronan (639 assists, 146 digs) and sophomore Floriana Rraci (263 digs).
DID YOU KNOW?: Senior Lindsey Nowak recorded her 1,000th career kill earlier this month and enters the weekend with 1,047 kills in 131 career matches…Nowak ranks sixth among the ECC leaders in both total kills (237) and kills per set (3.16)…senior Chelsea Turcer recorded her 600th career dig last weekend and enters the weekend with 601 digs in 130 career matches…sophomore Amber Drzymala stands just 10 digs shy of 500 for her career…Drzymala ranks 11th among the ECC leaders service aces (30), kills (211) and digs (227)…Katie McKrell ranks eighth among the league leaders in both total assists (440) and assists per set (5.79).
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 135 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 106 of the 135 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym. The Wildcats are 59-47 (.557) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they host Queens College Saturday (Nov. 1) and Molloy College Sunday (Nov. 2)…both matches begin at 11 a.m at Lumsden Gymnasium…it will mark the final two regular-season home games for Daemen.
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.
