THE LEAD: The Daemen College volleyball team caps its season-long four-match homestand by hosting Mercy College in an East Coast Conference matchup this weekend.

Sunday, October 25 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs Mercy College 1:00 p.m.
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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 (11-11, 6-3 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 10-6 over their last 16 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 two over Roberts Wesleyan, while their setbacks in the league came on October 9 at N.Y. Institute of Technology, October 16 at home versus Dowling and October 17 at home versus Bridgeport...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 home win over thruway rival Roberts Wesleyan earlier this week...Amber Drzymala and Wang paced Daemen against RWC, combining for 29 kills and a hitting percentage of .614...freshman outside hitter Ashley Drzymala contributed her third-straight double-double (10 kills, 10 digs) in the win...the younger Drzymala has put up big numbers to lead the team in her rookie campaign thus far...she has recorded double-figure kills in 16 of the Wildcats' last 18 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...she has recorded eight double-doubles this season, six of which have come in the last eight matches...through 22 matches this season, Ashley Drzymala leads the team in kills (276) and service aces (43)...she currently ranks second in the ECC in total kills and third in kills per set (3.49)...Wang, who has tallied 194 kills and a team-best 69 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's currently one of just three players in the league with a hitting percentage over .300 for the season (.308)...Amber Drzymala has chipped in with 193 kills and 193 digs...McKrell's 763 total assists and 9.66 assists per set both currently rank fourth in the ECC...additional production has come from Reeser (121 kills, 16 blocks) sophomore Rachel Stephenson (68 kills, 26 blocks) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (276 digs). 

THE MAVERICKS (6-19, 1-7 ECC):  Mercy is led by third-year head coach Kelly Wengerter who returns six players from a team which achieved an overall record of 5-25, and an ECC mark of 1-15 last season…the challenge heading into this season is replacing three of the Mavericks' top four attackers from last season, including second-team All-ECC pick Brenna White (517 kills), and the team's top setter, McKenna Ronan, who accounted for 828 of the team's 987 total assists last season...leading the returners is sophomore outside hitter Sa'Naya Johnson (144 kills, 33 blocks last season) and junior defensive specialist Floriana Rraci (340 digs last season)...there are a handful of freshman sensations on this 2015 roster who are setting the tone for the Mavericks… freshman outside hitter Peyton Olson paces the Mavericks with 260 kills (third in the ECC) while teammate Eva Marie Lynch has tallied 73 blocks to lead the conference…freshman setter Toni Parente leads the team with 265 assists while freshman defensive specialist Brianna Heffernan adds 355 digs…additional production has come from the leading returner, Johnson, who has added 165 kills on the season…Mercy was off to a slow start as they dropped the first four contests of the season…a four-set match against Dominican bounced the Mavericks back and earned them their first win of the season on September 8…the Mavericks won three of the next four non-conference contests but faltered during their first ECC matchup against Roberts Wesleyan on September 19, dropping a five-set match against the Redhawks…this became a trend as the team would dropped the next six competitions including a straight-set loss to Daemen on September 26…Mercy picked up their first conference win against Queens in a straight-set victory on October 6…the Mavericks are coming off a 3-0 road victory at Division III New Rochelle which snapped a seven-match slide...Olson racked up 23 kills in the win...it was Mercy's first true road win since September 17 at Felician.

THE HISTORY VS. MERCY:  Sunday's match marks the sixth all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercy with the Wildcats holding a 3-2 edge in the all-time series following their first-ever road win at Mercy earlier this season...Ashley Drzymala paced Daemen with 16 kills in the three-set win back on September 26...Daemen also got 35 assists from setter Katie McKrell, while junior Amber Drzymala played a fine overall match, contributing nine kills and 10 digs...Sa'Naya Johnson led the Mavericks with five kills as the hosts were limited to just 20 kills as a team...the Wildcats and Mavericks split the season series in 2013 and 2014 since Daemen joined the ECC...last season, Daemen drew first blood, snapping a 14-match skid with a 3-0 defeat of Mercy at Lumsden Gym...Jenna Reeser led Daemen with 12 kills while Amber Drzymala posted a double-double (10 kills, 12 digs)...in the second meeting, Lindsey Nowak's 21 kills and Katie McKrell's 40 assists weren't enough as Brenna White put down 26 kills in a 3-1 Mercy win.

KEEPING PACE: Daemen's match versus Roberts Wesleyan earlier this week marked the beginning of the second round of conference play...at 6-3, Daemen is currently tied for third in the ECC standings as they battle for a berth in the ECC Tournament next month...if the ECC Tournament started today, Daemen would hold the No. 4 seed, losing a tie-breaker on head-to-head results with NYIT...while everyone chases undefeated Bridgeport (9-0)...Dowling remains competitive in second place (7-2), and it appears that the top five teams will battle for the four ECC Tournament berths...at present, LIU Post (5-4) would be on the outside looking in...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.

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 Drzymalarecorded 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.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Sunday's match features several of the best freshmen in the ECC, including Daemen's Ashley Drzymala and Kailey Ballou and Mercy's Peyton Olson, Eva Marie Lynch and Brianna Heffernan...Drzymala leads Daemen in kills (276), kills per set (3.49), total attacks (763) and service aces (43), while also ranking third on the team with 190 digs...she ranks among the ECC leaders in kills (second), kills per set (third), total attacks (third) and service aces (second)...she's one of just five players in the league with over 200 kills and 190 digs, and one of just two freshmen to do so, joining LIU Post's Rachel Londot...Drzymala has been named ECC Rookie of the Week three times this season, including in each of the last two weeks...Ballou has also contributed as Daemen's starting libero in her rookie campaign, racking up a team-best 276 digs which ranks eighth in the league...Olson has paced Mercy so far this season with her team-best 260 kills which ranks third in the league...Lynch leads the league in blocks (73), while Heffernan ranks second in digs (355).

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 23-percent of their 162 total matches in that time at Lumsden Gymnasium...Daemen is 4-2 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 33-24 (.579 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:  The Wildcats hit the road to face Queens (Friday, October 30) and Molloy (Saturday, October 31) in a pair of ECC contests.

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.