THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team travels to The Keystone State Saturday (Sept. 27), before retuning home to host Mercy College in an East Coast Conference match Sunday (Sept. 28). The Wildcats will take part in a tri-match hosted by Lock Haven University Saturday, facing Kutztown University and the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven. Kutztown and Lock Haven are both members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, a 15-member NCAA Division II conference.
Saturday, Sept. 27 (games played at Lock Haven University)
Daemen vs. Kutztown - 3 p.m.
Daemen vs. Lock Haven - 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 28
Mercy at Daemen - 10:30 a.m. / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
THE COACHES: 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 149-163 (.478) 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…John Gump is in his 18th season as head women's volleyball coach at Kutztown…he has posted a 334-207 (.617) record in his previous 17 seasons at KU and was named the PSAC Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2006…Dan Kreiger is in his third season as head women's volleyball coach at Lock Haven…he led the Bald Eagles to 47 victories and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2012) in his first two seasons…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: The Wildcats have a very limited history with their three opponents this weekend...Daemen will be meeting both Kutztown and Lock Haven for the first time…Daemen and Mercy 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 (0-12, 0-3 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 ECC play last week with losses to Roberts Wesleyan (3-0), Dowling (3-0) and Bridgeport (3-0)…Nowak had a streak of seven-straight matches with double-digit kills snapped during the loss to Bridgeport…she had a career-high 18 kills in the loss to Dowling and has totaled a team-high 125 kills…Drzymala recorded a double-double (10 kills, 12 digs) in the loss to Bridgeport and has totaled 106 kills and 100 digs…McKrell had 27 assists in the loss to Dowling and has totaled a team-high 191 assists…additional production has come from Turcer (120 digs), sophomore Ryanne Dugan (87 assists, 29 digs), Reeser (56 kills, 12 blocks) and Steck (38 kills, 25 digs)…Reeser had a season-high 10 kills in the loss to Dowling last weekend.
THE BEARS (5-5; 0-4 PSAC): Kutztown was picked sixth in the PSAC East preseason poll...the Bears posted a 14-19 overall record and an 8-14 mark in the PSAC last fall…junior Audrey Stringer collected first team All-PSAC East honors last fall after posting a team-high 321 kills…the Bears won five of their first six matches, before going winless in four matches last weekend against Mercyhurst (3-0), Gannon (3-1), Slippery Rock (3-0) and Edinboro (3-0)…the Bears play at Pitt-Johnstown Friday night before taking on Daemen and Lock Haven Saturday…Stringer had 13 kills in a 3-2 loss to West Virginia State and has totaled a team-high 79 kills and 30 blocks…additional production has come from senior Danielle Van Buren (78 kills, 21 blocks) and sophomores Anna Conti (270 assists, 106 digs) and Kim Groff (114 digs).
THE BALD EAGLES (7-4; 2-2 PSAC): Lock Haven was picked fourth in the PSAC East preseason poll...the Bald Eagles posted a 21-14 overall record and a 12-10 mark in the PSAC…head coach Dan Kreiger must overcome the graduation of three-time All-PSAC selection Bailey Farthing who totaled 215 kills and a team-high 81 blocks last year, but returns veterans Cody Anderson (298 kills in 2013), Megan Flick (277 kills, 277 digs in 2013), Kaleigh Hudak (230 kills in 2013), Jessica Brown (1,126 assists, 46 aces, 342 digs in 2013) and Bethany Burns (529 digs in 2013)…the Bald Eagles won their first five matches, but are just 2-4 over their last six matches…the Bald Eagles host East Stroudsburg Friday night before taking on Daemen and Kutztown Saturday…Anderson has totaled a team-high 129 kills thus far, while Hudak (99 kills), Flick (84 kills, 23 blocks), Brown (397 assists, 18 aces, 122 digs) and Burns (105 digs) have also produced.
THE MAVERICKS (3-8; 0-2 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…Mercy plays at Roberts Wesleyan Saturday before taking on Daemen Sunday…senior Brenna White returns after totaling 507 kills and 311 digs and earning second team All-ECC honors last fall…the Mavericks snapped a five-match losing streak following a 3-0 win over Nyack this past Tuesday…MC opened ECC play with losses to LIU Post (3-0) and NYIT (3-2) earlier this month…White had 21 kills in the win over Nyack and has totaled a team-high 196 kills…she has also contributed 121 digs and a team-high 14 aces…additional production has come from freshman Sa'Naya Johnson (73 kills), senior McKenna Ronan (327 assists, 75 digs) and sophomore Floriana Rraci (135 digs).
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen is 17-7 at Lumsden Gym since the start of the 2011 season.
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 123 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 99 of the 123 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym. The Wildcats are 59-40 (.596) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to action Wednesday (Oct. 1) when they travel to Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. for a non-league 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.
