THE LEAD:  The Daemen College volleyball team will host a pair of East Coast Conference opponents this weekend when Molloy College and Queens College invade Lumsden Gymnasium...Daemen will compete against Molloy at 7 p.m. on Friday (October 2) and follow the contest with a match against Queens at 11 a.m. Saturday (October 3)...the matches mark Daemen's first home ECC tilts of the 2015 season.

Friday, October 2 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Molloy at Daemen, 7 p.m.
DC ROSTER / MC ROSTER / DC STATS / MC STATS
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
GAME PROGRAM
 
Saturday, October 3 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Queens at Daemen, 11 a.m.
DC ROSTER / QC ROSTER / DC STATS / QC STATS
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
GAME PROGRAM

DIVISION II DEBUT: Daemen successfully completed a three-year membership process and was approved for active membership status at the NCAA Division II level by the NCAA Membership Committee his past summer…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) in July of 2012 and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…the 2015-16 academic year will mark the first year Daemen will be eligible for ECC and NCAA post-season play. 

MEET THE NEW BOSS: Bob Maxwell enters his first season as the head women's volleyball coach at Daemen…a longtime fixture in the Western New York volleyball scene, Maxwell comes to Daemen after spending 32 years in a variety of roles at the University at Buffalo…he led the Bulls' women's volleyball program from 1981-98, a period of time which saw the program ascend from Division III to Division II and eventually to Division I…in that span, Maxwell's teams achieved a record of 409-285-8, giving Maxwell more wins than any coach in any sport in UB's history…he will be assisted by Stephanie Albano and Kaley Vazquez.

DAEMEN VOLLEYBALL PODCAST: Get the latest news and notes surrounding the Daemen volleyball team in episode five of the Daemen Volleball Podcast with play-by-play announcer Ryan Maxwell manning the mic...Maxwell recaps the Wildcats' recent matches while also previewing this weekend's action.

THE WILDCATS (6-8, 1-0 ECC): Daemen returns eight players from last year's team that posted a 2-27 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the East Coast Conference…the Wildcats were voted sixth in the 2015 ECC preseason poll…first-year head coach Bob Maxwell will also welcome Ye Wang back to the fold…Wang, a first-team All-ECC selection in 2013, sat out the 2014 season…the 6-1 senior led the team in kills (397) and blocks (97) in 2013…also topping the list of returning players are junior Amber Drzymala and sophomores Katie McKrell and Jenna Reeser…Drzymala led the team in service aces (36) and digs (280) and ranked second in kills (268) last year…McKrell paced the team in sets (612), while Reeser ranked third in kills (165), fourth in blocks (25) and fifth in digs (96)…after opening the season with one win in their first six matches, the Wildcats are 5-3 over their last eight matches...a pair of three-set wins over Assumption and Georgian Court on the second day of Charger Invitational ignited the string of solid play...freshman Ashley Drzymala was named to the all-tournament team after posting 57 kills, 34 digs and 12 service aces...the Wildcats ran their winning streak to three-straight by defeating Le Moyne in a five-set thriller at Lumsden Gymnasium on Sept. 16 in the team's 2015 home opener...the Drzymala sisters were key to the victory, combining for 49 kills while both setting personal career-highs (Amber - 25, Ashley - 24)...the result marked the Wildcats' first five-set win since October 29, 2013 over Roberts Wesleyan, and the team's first five-set win when dropping the first two sets since September 3, 2011 in a neutral site match versus Oklahoma City University...since then, Daemen has added wins over Saint Rose and Mercy...additional losses have come to Clarion, Bentley and Edinboro...the win over Mercy on September 26 marked Daemen's first-ever win in an ECC opener, and their first-ever road win in the all-time series versus the Mavericks...Daemen is coming off a three-set non-conference road loss to Edinboro earlier this week...Ashley Drzymala has keyed the Wildcats' uprising of late...the 5-foot-10 outside hitter has recorded double-figure kills in nine of the Wildcats' last 10 matches...through 14 matches this season, the younger Drzymala leads the team in kills (166) and service aces (30)...she currently ranks third in the ECC in total kills and kills per set (3.53)...the elder Drzymala and Wang have chipped in with 103 and 97 kills, respectively, while Wang leads the team in blocks (32)...McKrell's 435 total assists and 9.26 assists per set both currently rank third in the ECC...additional production has come from Reeser (70 kills, 13 blocks) sophomore Rachel Stephenson (47 kills, 20 blocks) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (181 digs). 

THE LIONS (2-12, 0-2 ECC): Molloy is led by head coach Billy Corrao who is currently in his fifth season...he entered this season with 37 total wins, placing him second on the program's all-time leaderboard for coaching victories…Molloy was voted seventh in the 2015 ECC preseason poll...the Lions return nine players from last season's squad that went 12-17 overall, and 6-10 in ECC play…gone from last season are three of the six players who recorded more than 100 kills, including Sam Berna (228) and Shannon Appel (188) who finished second and third on the team...the Lions do welcome back their top attacker, Danielle Williams (262 kills, 39 service aces), their top setter, Ally De Kruyf (692 assists), and their top back-row defender, Samira Escobar (452 digs)...Molloy opened the season with six-straight losses, including five suffered at the Cal State-Los Angeles Invitational...the Lions got off the proverbial schneid by going 2-2 at the East Stroudsburg Invitational, scoring victories over Nyack and Bowie State...but, Molloy has suffered five-straight losses heading into this weekend's action, including a pair of ECC defeats last week, falling at home to Bridgeport (September 22) and LIU Post (September 24), both four-set affairs...the Lions have been paced offensively by a pair of freshmen, Jeanne Reinis (94 kills) and Carly Banks (92 kills)...Banks (21 blocks) has teamed with returning junior Spencer Williams (25 blocks) to lead the Lions' defense at the net...De Kruyk has contributed 217 assists, while fellow returner Alley Stefanovski has put up 192 assists and a team-high 19 service aces...additional production has come from Escobar (75 kills, 142 digs), Cassie Palmer (71 kills) and Dakota O'Neill (174 digs).
 
THE KNIGHTS (3-8, 0-2 ECC): Queens is led by first-time head coach Jason Octave who was elevated to the position after serving as an assistant to Leanna Taylor the last several seasons…Queens was voted eighth in the 2015 ECC preseason poll...Octave's biggest challenge to open the season will be replacing the production of two-way player Francesca Indoni who contributed 204 kills, 141 digs and a team-best 80 blocks last season...Octave does welcome back seven players from the Knights' 2014 roster which achieved an overall record of 11-15, including a 5-11 mark in ECC contests...among the returners is second-team All-ECC selection Arielle DiCocco, a senior right-side hitter who amassed a team-high 325 kills last season...Octave also retains the services of 6-foot middle blocker Tori Bowser (197 kills, 62 blocks in 2014), senior libero Xhesi Domi (412 digs in 2014) and sophomore setter Kristen Moore (345 assists in 2014)...Queens opened the 2015 season by winning three of their first five matches, including victories over the same Assumption and Georgian Court teams whom Daemen defeated earlier this season...but, the Knights have suffered six-straight defeats heading into this weekend's matches...included in that stretch is a pair of ECC defeats at the hands of N.Y. Institute of Technology (September 22) and Dowling (September 24)...the Knights are coming off a non-conference loss at Caldwell last Saturday (September 26)...as expected, Bowser (96 kills, 32 blocks) and DiCocco (87 kills, 20 blocks) have led the Knights thus far...Moore has put up 224 assists, running the 6-2 system with fellow setter Jessica Yin, a newcomer who has totaled 171 assists thus far...Domi ranks second in the ECC in digs per set (4.61)...additional production has come from senior outside hitter Else Buchmiller (72 kills) and sophomore outside hitter Ragina Anthony (62 kills)...Queens plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Friday night before heading to Daemen for Saturday's late-morning tilt.

THE HISTORY VS. MOLLOY:  Daemen is 4-1 against the Lions since 2012...the two teams split the season series in 2014...Molloy got on the board in the series with 3-0 win (25-12, 25-22, 25-19) at Quealy Gymnasium on October 4...Danielle Williams notched 11 kills and Ally De Kruyf added 31 assists for the Lion victory...Daemen would rebound with a 3-1 win (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21) at Lumsden Gymnasium on November 2...Lindsey Nowak paced Daemen with 18 kills while Amber Drzymala chipped in 16, and Katie McKrell tallied 39 assists to help Daemen snap an 11-match skid...Ye Wang, who missed last season's matchups with Molloy during her redshirt season, has put up solid numbers in three career matches against the Lions...the 6-foot-1 middle blocker has totaled 32 kills and attacked at a .450 clip in those outings...that included one of Wang's best career performances in her last home meeting with the Lions, a 3-0 Daemen win on October 20, 2013, in which she talled 17 kills while committing just one error in 26 attempts (.615 hitting percentage).

THE HISTORY VS. QUEENS:  Daemen is 2-2 against Queens since joining the ECC in 2013...the Wildcats swept the season series in their inaugural season in the league, before Queens returned the favor last season...Arielle DiCocco and Tori Bowser torched Daemen for a combined 59 kills in the two matches, both four-set affairs...in the Knights' last trip to Amherst, on November 1, 2014...DiCocco led the way with 17 kills whle Kristen Moore put up 53 assists...Daemen's last win in the series came on November 16, 2013 at QC's Fitzgerald Gymnasium, a 3-1 decision in which Brittany Anthon (11 kills) and Lindsey Nowak (10 kills) led the way.

HOME SWEET HOME: The two matches this weekend mark the Wildcats' 2015 East Coast Conference home openers, and just the Wildcats' second and third home matches overall this season...Daemen posted a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over Le Moyne College in their first home contest earlier this season...the Wildcats have posted a winning record at Lumsden Gymnasium in four of the last six seasons...since 2009, Daemen has recorded a record of 30-22 (.577 winning percentage) at Lumsden Gymnasium...last season's 2-7 home record snapped a string of three-straight winning seasons from 2011-13, compiling a 17-5 mark (.773 winning percentage) in that span.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen hits the road for East Coast Conference contests at N.Y. Institute of Technology (Friday, October 9) and LIU Post (Saturday, October 10) next weekend.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College women's volleyball on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics /@DaemenVB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.