Ye Wang and the Daemen volleyball team put their 5-1 ECC mark on the line at home this weekend

Women's Volleyball 10/15/2015 1:30:00 PM

Volleyball Begins Four-Match Homestand This Weekend

THE LEAD: The Daemen College volleyball team will kickoff a season-long four-match homestand by hosting two East Coast Conference matches this weekend at Lumsden Gymnasium, facing Dowling College on Friday and continuing competition against University of Bridgeport on Saturday.

Friday, October 16 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs Dowling, 7 p.m.
DAEMEN ROSTER / DOWLING ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / DOWLING STATS
LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAMING VIDEO / GAME PROGRAM

Saturday, October 17 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs Bridgeport, 11 a.m.
DAEMEN ROSTER / BRIDGEPORT ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / BRIDGEPORT STATS
LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAMING 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.

THE WILDCATS (10-9, 5-1 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 9-4 over their last 13 matches..a 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 has gone on to add ECC wins over Molloy, Queens, LIU Post and Roberts Wesleyan, while their lone setback in the league came on October 9 at N.Y. Institute of Technology...the wins against Molloy, Queens and LIU Post were all five-set affairs, moving Daemen to 4-1 in five-set matches this season...Daemen is coming off a 3-0 win at thruway rival Roberts Wesleyan earlier this week...Wang was strong at the net, contributing a match-high 12 kills and adding six blocks in Daemen's first win over RWC since October 29, 2013...Reeser and Amber Drzymala added 10 kills apiece while McKrell set the table with 37 assists...freshman outside hitter Ashley Drzymala has put up big numbers to lead the team in her rookie campaign thus far...the 5-foot-10 outside hitter has recorded double-figure kills in 13 of the Wildcats' last 15 matches...she notched a career-high 24 kills in a non-league win over Le Moyne on September 16, and matched that total in the win over LIU Post, while adding a career-high 18 digs vs. the Pioneers for her fifth double-double of the season...through 19 matches this season, the younger Drzymala leads the team in kills (240) and service aces (41)...she currently ranks second in the ECC in total kills and third in kills per set (3.48)...Wang, who has tallied 170 kills and a team-best 59 blocks this season, was downright dominant in the wins against Molloy and Queens, when she put up 35 total kills, including a season-high 18 vs. Molloy, and attacked at a .400 clip...she currently leads the league in hitting percentage (.333)...Amber Drzymala has chipped in with 157 and 163 digs...McKrell's 656 total assists and 9.51 assists per set both currently rank fourth in the ECC...additional production has come from Reeser (106 kills, 16 blocks) sophomore Rachel Stephenson (64 kills, 24 blocks) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (247 digs).

THE GOLDEN LIONS (14-5, 4-2 ECC): Dowling is led by fourth-year head coach Kevin DesLauriers who received ECC Coach of the Year honors last season…the Golden Lions return eight players off their 2014 roster which achieved an overall record of 21-9, an ECC mark of 13-3 and a berth in the ECC Tournament where they fell to LIU Post.. Dowling welcomes five new players to the team in 2015 who hope to help fulfill high expectations as the Golden Lions were picked third in the ECC preseason poll… leading the returners is senior outside hitter Jessica Kalbfleisch, the 2015 ECC Preseason Player of the Year, who led the team last season with 380 kills… Kalbfleisch was second in the ECC for kills and hitting percentage and topped 1,000 career kills last season as well as finishing in the top five of the ECC in kills per set, total attempts, points and points per set…Kalbfleisch also added 369 digs and 18 double-doubles en rotue to earning first-team All-Conference, AVCA and Daktronics All-Region honors last season…joining Falbfleisch is 2014 ECC Setter of the Year Kayla Dillman…Dillman tallied 877 assists last season which led the ECC and ranked her 25th nationally...Dowling also welcomes back Kayla Morgan who was ECC Libero of the Year last season with a total 512 digs as well as 50 aces that earned her a spot atop of the conference's leader board...Dowling opened the season with three wins in four matches at their own tournament in early September, picking up wins over Southern Connecticut State, Post and East Stroudsburg, while suffering a five-set defeat to Saint Rose...the Golden Lions have gone on to record a 2-3 mark in five-set matches this season...Dowling opened ECC play with a five-set loss at LIU Post on September 22, before rebounding two days later with a road win at Queens...additional league victories have come at home over Mercy (3-0 on September 29), NYIT (3-0 on October 1) and Molloy (3-0 on October 6)...the Golden Lions are coming off a 3-0 defeat at league frontrunner Bridgeport earlier this week which snapped Dowling's five-match winning streak...Dowling is just 1-2 in their last three road matches heading into Friday's match at Daemen...as expected, Kalbfleisch and Dillman have paced the Golden Lions thus far...Kalbfleisch has recorded a team-best 219 kills, leading a quintet of players with at least 125 kills so far...she ranks fourth in the ECC in total kills and fifth in kills per set (3.13)...Dillman ranks second among all ECC players in total assists (697) and assists per set (9.82)...freshman libero Taylor Tekeda has emerged as the team's top back-row defender with 266 digs which ranks fifth in the league...newcomer Weronika Wiezik, a native of Poland, is second on the team with 170 kills...in the middle, returners Katarzyna Klocek (146, 43 blocks) and Dragana Jelovac (155 kills, 48 blocks) have produced at the net...Klocek was a second-team All-ECC pick last season...additional production this year has come from Mikalah Hughes (127 kills, 41 blocks), Nicole Parkas (204 digs) and Morgan (129 digs)...the Golden Lions enter Friday's match ranked first in the league in digs per set (17.44) and second in hitting percentage (.219).

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (13-7, 6-0 ECC): Bridgeport is led by Gary Mullin who is in his second year as head coach of the Purple Knights…Mullin led the team to a 26-3 record last season with an unblemished 16-0 conference record…the Purple Knights went on to win their third-straight ECC Tournament crown last season, and advanced to the NCAA East Regional final where their season ended at the hands of New Haven…the three-time defending conference champs received a first place spot in the ECC preseason poll despite returning just five players from last year's team…the Purple Knights were forced to say goodbye to three statistical leaders from their 2014 team including ECC Player of the Year Biljana Savic who totaled 503 assists, 250 kills, 53 service aces and 37 blocks as a do-it-all player on the court...also gone is first-team All-ECC selection Larissa Oliveira who led UB with 80 blocks while adding 232 kills last season...UB does welcome back senior outside hitter Sarah Rosa, another first-team All-ECC selection last year, who led the team with 308 kills and 56 aces in 2014…after opening the season with six losses in their first nine matches, the Purple Knights have hit their stride and enter this weekend's action having won 10 of their last 11...UB is 7-1 against common opponents with Daemen this season (Daemen is 4-4 against those opponents)...the Purple Knights opened ECC play on September 22 with a four-set win at Molloy...UB went on to defeat NYIT in its home opener on September 24, the Purple Knights' only home match of the month...a non-conference loss at home to Adelphi on October 9 snapped UB's nine-match winning streak...the Purple Knights got back on track with an three-set conference win over Dowling earlier this week...UB plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Friday night before heading to Amherst for Saturday's contest with the Wildcats...newcomers Katarina Krstonosic, Ellie Rich and Amelie Guinci have paced the Purple Knights so far in 2015...Krstonosic, a Serbian native, has been named ECC Player of the Week a league-leading three times this season, and she's totaled 264 kills and 252 digs to date, ranking first in the league in total kills, second in kills per set (3.83) and seventh in total digs and digs per set (3.65)...Rich, a freshman setter from Colorado, has put up 694 assists to rank third in the ECC presently...Guinci, who came across the pond from France to UB, leads the league with 328 digs...Rosa has chipped in with 171 kills, 129 digs and 23 blocks...fellow returner Jade Zhao leads the team in blocks (52)...additional production has come from Frida Randen (134 kills, 47 blocks, .289 hitting percentage) and Sara Cruz (123 kills).

THE HISTORY VS. DOWLING: Since joining the ECC in 2013, Daemen is 1-3 in the all-time series versus Dowling, winning the teams' first-ever meeting as conference foes before the Golden Lions have ripped off three-straight wins...Daemen took down the Golden Lions in four set on September 29, 2013, getting 17 kills and five blocks from Ye Wang in the victory...Dowling regrouped a short time later, winning a five-set match here at Lumsden Gym on October 4, 2013, and the Golden Lions swept the season series in 2014, both three-set affairs...Jessica Kalbfleisch totaled 35 kills in the two matches last season to lead Dowling.

THE HISTORY VS. BRIDGEPORT: Daemen is searching for its first win against the perennial powerhouse Bridgeport who has swept the season series in each of the last two seasons...Daemen pushed the Purple Knights to five sets here at Lumsden Gym in the team's first meeting as conference foes back on October 5, 2013 before falling...Brittany Anthon paced a balanced Daemen offense with 13 kills in that one, while UB got 19 kills from Sarah Rosa and 37 assists from Biljana Savic...both matches in 2014 were three-set affairs.

KEEPING PACE: This weekend's matches mark the completion of the first round of Daemen's 2015 ECC slate, meaning they will have played each conference team once, with one meeting still on the docket...nearing the halfway point, Daemen enters this weekend in second place in the ECC standings as they battle for a berth in the ECC Tournament next month...the Wildcats (5-1) currently hold a slim one-game lead on both LIU Post (4-2) and Dowling (4-2) while everyone chases undefeated Bridgeport (6-0)...NYIT is looming in fifth place at 3-3, and it appears that those top five teams will battle for the four ECC Tournament berths...the ECC Tournament will feature the top four teams from the final conference standings, and will be hosted by the league's regular season champion...this season marks the first time that Daemen is eligible for a berth in the ECC Tournament, where the winning team receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

ROOKIE SENSATION: Earlier this week, freshman outside hitter Ashley Drzymala was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for matches played October 5-12...Drzymala helped Daemen to a split of their two conference road matches last week as the Wildcats picked up a huge five-set win at LIU Post on Saturday...for the week, Drzymala totaled 39 kills in 101 attack attempts, hitting at a .178 clip...in the win over LIU Post, she matched a career-high with 24 kills and added a career-best 18 digs for her fifth double-double of the season...after opening the season by averaging 5.8 kills per match in Daemen's first four outings, she's gone on to tally double-figure kills in 13 of the last 15 matches, averaging 14.5 kills per match in that span...through 19 matches this season, the Drzymala leads the team in kills (240) and service aces (41)...she currently ranks second in the ECC in total kills and third in kills per set (3.48).

CLUTCH PERFORMANCES: Success in five-set matches has become the norm in recent weeks for Daemen...the Wildcats have rattled off four-straight wins in five-set matches and are 4-1 this season in matches that go the distance...three of the four wins have come at home, and also three of the four wins have come in ECC play...the latest streak began when Daemen rallied from a two-sets-to-none deficit to visiting Le Moyne in their 2015 home opener, battling back to win on September 16...that win marked Daemen's first five-set victory since October 29, 2013 (vs. Roberts Wesleyan), and their first when rallying from an 0-2 hole in sets since defeating Oklahoma City University on September 3, 2011...Amber Drzymala recorded a career-best 25 kills, while sister Ashley was nearly as impressive with her career-high 24 kills in the win over Le Moyne...senior middle blocker Ye Wang notched a season-high 18 kills in the win over Molloy on October 2, and added 17 more the following day in the five-set defeat of Queens...Daemen's latest five-set win came on the road at LIU Post last Saturday, October 10 in the Wildcats' first five-set road win since November 1, 2011 at Buffalo State...Ashley Drzymala came through with career-bests of 24 kills and 18 digs to lead Daemen past the Pioneers.

HOME SWEET HOME: Home matches have been few and far between in recent years for the Wildcats...since the start of the 2011 season, Daemen has played just 21-percent of their 159 total matches in that time at Lumsden Gymnasium...Daemen is 3-0 at home this season and 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 32-22 (.593 winning percentage) in home matches...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's season-long four-match homestand continues when the Wildcats host thruway rivals Roberts Wesleyan for the teams' second meeting over the previous six days.

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.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#13 Amber Drzymala: OH; 5' 9"; Junior

#15 Jenna Reeser: OH; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#18 Rachel Stephenson: MB/RS; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#7 Ye Wang: MB; 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior

#10 Ashley Drzymala: OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

#1 Kailey Ballou: L; 5' 7"; Freshman

#11 Katie McKrell: S; 5' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#13 Amber Drzymala
: 5' 9"; Junior
: OH

#15 Jenna Reeser
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: OH

#18 Rachel Stephenson
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: MB/RS

#7 Ye Wang
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior
: MB

#10 Ashley Drzymala
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OH

#1 Kailey Ballou
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: L

#11 Katie McKrell
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: S