THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team travels down the New York State Thruway to square off against Le Moyne College in a non-league match…game time is 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 1).
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Daemen at Le Moyne - 7 p.m. / 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 this past Sunday following a 3-0 victory over Mercy College and owns a 150-165 (.476) 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. Lizzie Cheek is in her second season as head women's volleyball coach at Le Moyne...a 2010 graduate of Le Moyne, she was four-time all-conference performer for the Dolphins and holds the program record for career kills (1,284).
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: Th Wednesday's match will mark the third-straight year and the 11th time overall the Wildcats and Dolphins have met...Daemen owns a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series...the Wildcats have prevailed in the last four, and seven of the last eight, meetings…Daemen posted a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-14, 25-22) over the Dolphins last year at Lumsden Gym…Lindsey Nowak led the way with 12 kills, while Chelsea Turcer handed out 13 assists…Natalie Casson (8 kills, 10 digs) and Megan Maisonet (22 assists) paced the Dolphins…Le Moyne's last win over Daemen came during the 2005 season.
THE WILDCATS (1-14, 1-3 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 have all made an immediate impact…the Wildcats opened ECC play last week with losses to Roberts Wesleyan (3-0), Dowling (3-0) and Bridgeport (3-0), before dropping non-league matches to Kutztown (3-2) and Lock Haven (3-0) this past Saturday…Daemen rebounded with its first win of the season on Sunday, as the Wildcats posted a 3-0 win (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) over ECC rival Mercy at Lumsden Gym…Nowak has recorded double-digit kills in nine of the last 11 matches and had a career-high 21 kills in the loss to Kutztown…she leads the team in kills (165) and blocks (15) and ranks third in digs (56)…Drzymala had a career-high 22 kills and a season-high 21 digs in the loss to Kutztown…she leads the team in service aces (18) and ranks second in both kills (138) and digs (132)…McKrell had 63 assists in the five-set loss to Kutztown and has totaled a team-high 275 assists…additional production has come from Turcer (137 digs), sophomore Ryanne Dugan (97 assists, 30 digs), Reeser (87 kills, 13 blocks) and Steck (50 kills, 30 digs)…Reeser had a season-high 14 kills in the loss to Kutztown and added a team-high 12 kills in the win over Mercy…sophomore Allie Witkoski had a career-high 13 sets in the loss to Lock Haven and followed up with 12 helpers in the win over Mercy.
MCKRELL, NOWAK, REESER COLLECT ECC HONORS: Freshman Katie McKrell was named ECC Setter of the Week after posting 84 assists (10.5 per match) over two matches last weekend. Her 63 sets in a 3-2 loss to Kutztown are the most in one match by an ECC player this season. She has totaled a team-high 275 assists and ranks ninth among the ECC leaders in assists per match (5.98). Senior Lindsey Nowak and freshman Jenna Reeser were named to the weekly ECC Honor Roll. Nowak posted a .258 hitting percentage and record 40 kills and 10 blocks over three matches. Reeser recorded the first two double-doubles of her career. She had 14 kills and 10 digs in the loss to Kutztown and registered 12 kills and 10 digs in the win over Mercy.
THE DOLPHINS (3-8, 1-2 NE-10): Le Moyne is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, a 15-member NCAA Division II conference…the Dolphins were picked 11th in the NE-10 preseason poll...the Dolphins finished 9-17 overall and 3-11 in the NE-10 last year…sophomores Natalie Casson and Annie Stoklosa and senior Megan Maisonet top the list of returning players…Casson led the team in kills (268) as a freshman, while Stoklosa registered a team-high 355 digs…Maisonet added a team-high 884 assists….Le Moyne went 2-2 during a season-opening invitational at East Stroudsburg University, before suffering six-straight losses—including setbacks to ECC members Roberts Wesleyan (3-2) and LIU Post (3-1)…the Dolphins snapped the six-game losing streak following a 3-0 win over Pace this past Friday…Casson totaled a season-high 20 kills during an early-season win over Wilmington and has totaled a team-high 122 kills...Maisonet handed out 47 assists in the loss to Roberts Wesleyan and has totaled 325 assists thus far (8.1 per set)…additional production has come from Stoklosa (158 digs), sophomore Andrea Buchanan (103 kills, 114 digs) and senior Kristen Willets (70 kills, 30 blks).
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen is 18-7 at Lumsden Gym since the start of the 2011 season.
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 126 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 101 of the 126 matches have been played away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gym. The Wildcats are 59-42 (.594) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play this weekend when they travel to Queens College (Oct. 3) and Molloy College (Oct. 4)… 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.
