THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team heads to St. Petersburg, Fla. this weekend to take part in the Eckerd College Classic.
IT'S LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: This marks the second-straight season the Wildcats have taken part in an early-season tournament in The Sunshine State. Last year Daemen took part in the Courtyard By Marriott Invitational hosted by Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
THE SCHEDULE: Daemen will play four matches over the span of two days. All matches are against NCAA Division II competition.
Friday, Sept. 12 (at Eckerd College)
Daemen vs. Queens University of Charlotte, 3 p.m.
Daemen vs. Eckerd, 7 p.m. / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
Saturday, Sept. 13 (at Eckerd College)
Daemen vs. Nova Southeastern, 12:45 p.m. / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
Daemen vs. Florida Institute of Technology, 5:15 p.m.
THE COACH: Mark Parisi begins his 10th year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen and entered the 2014 season just one win shy of 150 for his career. He owns a 149-155 (.490) 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.
NCAA DIVISION 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 WILDCATS (0-5, 0-0 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 are expected to make an immediate impact…click HERE for a complete season preview…the Wildcats opened the 2014 season at the East-West Challenge in Hawaii last weekend…Nowak had 11 kills in a 3-1 loss to Chaminade and has totaled a team-high 42 kills…Drzymala had a career-high 16 kills in the 3-1 loss to Chaminade and has totaled 38 kills and 36 digs…freshman Katie McKrell had 28 assists in the 3-1 loss to Chaminade and has totaled a team-high 84 assists…Turcer leads the team in digs with 51.
THE ROYALS (1-3, 0-0 SAC): Queens University of Charlotte is a member of the South Atlantic Conference, a 12-member NCAA Division II conference…the Royals were voted sixth in the SAC preseason poll…the Royals posted a 17-12 overall record (14-8 mark in the SAC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last fall…head coach Lettie Wilkes enters her fourth season at Queens…junior middle hitter Elizabeth Bialkowski and sophomore outside hitter Meridith Jones top the list of returning players…Bialkowski totaled 202 kills and a team-high 73 blocks last year and earned preseason all-conference honors this fall…Jones was named to the SAC all-rookie team last year after totaling 180 kills…Queens hosted a season-opening tournament last weekend…Jones had 11 kills in a 3-1 win over Montevallo and has totaled a team-high 33 kills…freshman Sydney Kunz recorded 35 assists against Montevallo and leads the team with 95 assists…Bialkowski (19 kills, 11 blocks) and sophomore Megan Mancini (49 digs) have also contributed.
THE TRITONS (3-1, 0-0 SSC): Eckerd is a member of the Sunshine State Conference, a nine-member NCAA Division II conference…the Tritons were voted third in the SSC preseason poll…the Tritons posted a 20-10 overall record (11-5 SSC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last fall…head coach Michelle Piantadosi enters her third season at Eckerd…senior outside hitter Ali McAlveny collected second team all-conference honors last year after totaling 324 kills and 269 digs…senior middle blocker Katrina Milojevic (223 kills, 143 blocks) and junior outside hitter Tjasa Kotnik (203 kills, 88 blocks) also return…Milokjevic earned honorable mention All-SSC honors, while Kotnik was named to the all-newcomer team…Eckerd opened the 2014 season by winning three of four matches at the Palm Beach Atlantic University Invitational last weekend…Eckerd's lone loss was to ECC member Bridgeport…McAlveny had 18 kills and 13 digs in a 3-2 win over Quincy and has totaled a team-high 44 kills…junior Emily Schadow has posted a team-high 97 assists, while freshman Kaitlyn Sibson leads the team in digs (61).
THE SHARKS (1-3, 0-0 SSC): Nova Southeastern is also a member of the Sunshine State Conference…the Sharks were voted ninth in the SSC preseason poll…the Sharks posted a 6-21 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the SSC last fall…head coach Jennifer King enters her first season at NSU…junior outside hitter Sydney Cook led the team in kills (307) last year and earned second team All-SSC honors…junior Dana Holger (242 kills, 212 digs), sophomore Katie Pyles (734 assists) and senior Candice Johnson (334 digs) also return…the Sharks opened the season at the Florida Southern Terrace Classic last weekend…NSU suffered losses to Flager College and Lewis University, before posting a 3-2 victory over the University of New Haven, which was the preseason pick to win the Northeast-10 Conference…the Sharks dropped to 1-3 on the year following a 3-0 loss to Palm Beach Atlantic Tuesday night…Holger had 19 kills in the win over New Haven and has totaled a team-high 49 kills…Cook delivered 20 kills against New Haven and has totaled 42 kills, 49 digs and a team-high 17 blocks…Pyles (128 assists) and Johnson (79 digs) have also produced.
THE PANTHERS (2-2, 0-0 SSC): Florida Institute of Technology is also a member of the Sunshine State Conference and was voted eighth in the SSC preseason poll…the Panthers posted a 15-15 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the SSC last fall…head coach Amy O'Brien enters her third season at FIT…juniors Kim Juriga, Marilyn Dick, Ashtin Truesdale and Alea Hamm top the list of returning players…Juriga ranked second on the team in kills (286) and also totaled 119 digs and 74 blocks…Dick ranked third in kills (249), while Truesdale led the team in assists (716) and ranked third in digs (194) and second in service aces (29)…the 6-foot-3 Hamm totaled 122 kills and ranked second in blocks (95)…FIT also took part in the East-West Challenge in Hawaii last weekend and split their four matches…the Panthers defeated Daemen (3-0) and Hawii-Hilo (3-2) and lost to Chaminade (3-0) and BYU-Hawaii (3-0)…Juriga had 14 kills and 16 digs in the win over Hawaii-Hilo and has totaled a team-high 37 kills…Truesdale leads the team in assists (80), while senior Cheyanne Kauffman has totaled a team-high 48 digs.
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 116 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 94 of the 116 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym. The Wildcats are 59-35 (.628) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats open conference play Tuesday (Sept. 16) when they travel to rival Roberts Wesleyan College for a 7 p.m. match. Click HERE to view Daemen's complete schedule.
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.
