THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team closes out the 2014 season this weekend when it travels to Long Island to face East Coast Conference rivals New York Institute of Technology (Nov. 7) and LIU Post (Nov. 8).
Friday, Nov. 7, 2014
Daemen at New York Tech - 7 p.m.
Recreation Hall, Old Westbury, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014
Daemen at LIU Post - 12 p.m.
Pratt Recreation Center, Brookville, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
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 151-176 (.462) 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...Gail Wasmus is in her 29th season as head volleyball coach at NYIT...she entered the 2014 season with a career record of 530-370 (.589) 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 three seasons (9 total appearances)…Shellane Ogoshi is in her sixth season as head women's volleyball coach at LIU-Post and entered the 2014 season with a 99-67 (.596) career record…she has led the Pioneers to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons.
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: The Wildcats have a limited history with their two opponents this weekend…Daemen and New York Tech will meet for just the fifth time Friday…the Bears posted a 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) last month at Daemen…Emily Mankowski led the way with 15 kills, while Alison Fowler handed out 37 assists…Amber Drzymala paced the Wildcats with 10 kills and 13 digs…the teams split their two meetings last year….the Bears posted a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-12, 25-16) on Long Island...Shelby Cable totaled 17 kills and 11 digs to lead the way, while Marija Jovanivic registered 39 assists...Ye Wang (7 asts) and Paige Tilert (15 digs) paced the Wildcats…the Wildcats answered with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) at Lumsden Gym…Amber Drzymala led a balanced attack with seven kills and 12 digs…Savanah Donarski paced the Bears with 13 kills…the Wildcats and NYIT met for the first time ever during a tri-match at Roberts Wesleyan in 2012...Daemen dropped the first set 27-25, before winning the next three (25-22, 25-21, 25-14) to secure the win...Daemen and LIU-Post will meet for just the fourth time Saturday…the Pioneers posted a 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-15, 25-23) last month at Daemen…Danielle Valenza led a balanced attack with 10 kills…Amber Drzymala once again led the Wildcats with seven kills and 10 digs…the teams met for the first time ever last year...the Pioneers posted a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-15, 25-9, 25-17) on Long Island...Shelby McCool led a balanced attack with 12 kills, while Lulu Centro handed out 34 assists...Ye Wang had a team-high 13 kills for Daemen…the Wildcats responded with a 3-1 victory (25-17, 14-25, 25-22, 26-24) at Lumsden Gym…Ye Wang led the way with 14 kills, while Brittany Anthon added 11 kills and 13 digs…Melissa Hansen (11 kills, 4 blocks) and Lulu Centro (32 assists) paced the Pioneers.
THE WILDCATS (2-25; 2-12 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 snapped an 11-match losing streak following a 3-1 win over Molloy last weekend…Nowak has recorded double-digit kills 17 times this season and registered 18 kills in the win over Molloy last weekend…she leads the team in kills (292), ranks second in blocks (34) and fifth in digs (86)…Drzymala recorded her sixth double-double of the year (13 kills, 17 digs) in a 3-1 loss to Queens last weekend…she leads the team in digs (255) and service aces (35) and ranks second in kills (253)…McKrell had 39 assists in the win over Molloy and has totaled a team-high 546 assists…she also ranks third in digs (104)…additional production has come from Turcer (237 digs), sophomore Ryanne Dugan (142 assists), Reeser (145 kills, 93 digs, 24 blocks) and Steck (99 kills).
NOWAK COLLECTS USCAA ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Senior Lindsey Nowak has been named to the 2014 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) All-America team…a first-team selection for the second-straight year, Nowak enters this weekend's action with a team-high 292 kills…click HERE for the complete press release.
THE BEARS (12-16, 7-7 ECC): New York Tech was picked third in the ECC preseason poll...the Bears finished 27-7 overall (12-4 ECC) last year and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament…the Bears were hit hard by graduation, losing all-conference performers Shelby Cable, Savannah Donarski and Marija Javanovic...NYIT won eight of its first 13 matches this year, but are just 4-11 over their last 15…the Bears snapped a seven-match losing streak following a 3-0 win over Daemen a month ago, and are 4-4 over their last eight games…NYIT has not played since suffering a 3-1 loss to Dowling on Oct. 30…freshman Emily Mankowski had a season-high 21 kills in a recent 3-2 loss to LIU Post and has totaled a team-high 295 kills…she also ranks fourth in service aces (27) and fifth in digs (140)…fellow rookie Allison Fowler handed out 44 assists in a 3-2 win over Bentley on Oct. 25 and has totaled a team-high 717 assists...additional production has come from freshman Karolina Moderova (232 kills, 37 aces, 236 digs, 64 blocks) and juniors Kate Brock (223 kills, 106 blocks) and Becky Syers (438 digs).
THE PIONEERS (16-12, 9-5 ECC): LIU-Post was picked first in the ECC preseason poll...the Pioneers posted a 25-10 record (11-5 ECC) and claimed the NCAA Division II Tournament East Regional title last year…junior Rachel Ringor and senior Lulu Centro top the list of returning players…Ringor was named ECC Libero of the Year last fall after totaling 605 digs…Centro collected second-team all-conference honors after handing out 1,252 assists…the Pioneers snapped a four-match losing streak following a 3-0 win over Roberts Wesleyan a month ago and are 8-2 over their last 10 games…LIU Post suffered a 3-2 loss to Bridgeport and defeated Southern Connecticut (3-0) last week…freshman Danielle Valenza had 12 kills in the loss to Bridgeport last week and and has totaled a team-high 297 kills…she also ranks fourth in both digs (186) and blocks (54)…Centro handed out a season-high 47 assists in a recent 3-2 win over Molloy and has totaled 542 assists…Ringor had 20 digs in a recent 3-0 win over Bentley and has totaled a team-high 367 digs…she also leads the team in service aces (41)…additional production has come from junior Melissa Hansen (180 kills, 95 blocks) and sophomore Analise Austin (165 kills, 235 digs).
DID YOU KNOW?: Senior Lindsey Nowak recorded her 1,100th career kill last weekend and enters this weekend with 1,102 kills in 134 career matches…Nowak ranks sixth among the ECC leaders in total kills (292) and fourth in kills per set (3.36)…senior Chelsea Turcer recorded her 600th career dig recently and enters the weekend with 635 digs in 132 career matches…sophomore Amber Drzymala recorded her 500th career dig last weekend and has totaled 518 digs in 54 career matches…Drzymala ranks eighth among the ECC leaders service aces (35), 11th in kills (253) and 12th in digs (255)…Katie McKrell ranks sixth among the league leaders in total assists (546) and seventh in assists per set (6.20).
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 138 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 107 of the 138 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym. The Wildcats are 59-48 (.551) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.
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.
