Volleyball Looks For Season Sweeps Vs. Queens & Molloy This Weekend

THE LEAD: The Daemen College volleyball team will travel to the New York City metro area to battle against Queens College and Molloy College in a pair of East Coast Conference matches this weekend.

Friday, October 30 (Fitzgerald Gymnasium, Flushing, N.Y.)
Daemen @ Queens, 7:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / QC ROSTER / DC STATS / QC STATS
LIVE STATS

Saturday, October 31 (Quealy Gymnasium, Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
Daemen @ Molloy, 12:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / MC ROSTER / DC STATS / MC STATS
LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAMING VIDEO

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 (12-11, 7-3 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 11-6 over their last 17 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, another one versus Mercy, 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 pair of 3-0 home wins last week, one over thruway rival Roberts Wesleyan and a second over Mercy...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 over RWC, and led the team with 12 kills in the win over Mercy...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 17 of the Wildcats' last 19 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 versus the Pioneers...she has recorded eight double-doubles this season, six of which have come in the last nine matches...through 23 matches this season, Ashley Drzymala leads the team in kills (288) and service aces (44)...she currently ranks third in the ECC in total kills and kills per set (3.51)...Wang, who has tallied 202 kills and a team-best 70 blocks this season, was downright dominant in the earlier 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 (.316)...Amber Drzymala has chipped in with 199 kills and 207 digs...McKrell's 797 total assists rank fifth in the ECC and her 9.72 assists per set ranks fourth...additional production has come from Reeser (129 kills) sophomore Rachel Stephenson (69 kills, 27 blocks) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (284 digs).

THE KNIGHTS (7-13, 3-7 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 this season has been 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...after going through a tough stretch in the middle of their season that saw the Knights claim on victory in a 10-match span from Sept. 12 through Oct. 8, the Knights have turned things around by going 3-2 in recent weeks...a road victory at Molloy on Oct. 13 helped stem the tide, and the Knight followed that with a home win over LIU Post on Oct. 17...the Knights are coming off a non-conference victory over Georgian Court, a five-set affair in the teams' second meeting of the season...as expected, Bowser (140 kills, 42 blocks) and DiCocco (178 kills, 16 blocks) have led the Knights thus far...Moore has put up 321 assists, running the 6-2 system with fellow setter Jessica Yin, a newcomer who has totaled 320 assists thus far...Domi ranks second in the ECC in digs per set (4.36)...additional production has come from senior outside hitter Else Buchmiller (117 kills) and sophomore outside hitter Ragina Anthony (69 kills).

THE LIONS (4-19, 2-8 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 12 losses in their last 14 matches, including five-straight, heading into this weekend's action...Molloy is coming off a 3-1 non-conference loss at home to Bloomfield earlier this week...the Lions have been paced offensively by a pair of freshmen, Jeanne Reinis (150 kills) and Cassie Palmer (147 kills)…Carly Banks (144 kills, 33 blocks) has teamed with returning junior Spencer Williams (47 blocks) to lead the Lions' defense at the net...De Kruyk has contributed 353 assists, while fellow returner Alley Stefanovski has put up 309 assists and a team-high 26 service aces...additional production has come from Escobar (112 kills, 252 digs) and Dakota O'Neill (279 digs).

THE HISTORY VS. QUEENS: Daemen is 3-2 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...in their earlier matchup this season back on Oct. 3, the teams traded sets until Daemen emerged victorious in five, getting 17 kills from Ye Wang and a double-double from Ashley Drzymala (12 kills, 12 digs)...Arielle DiCocco paced the Knights with 15 kills.

THE HISTORY VS. MOLLOY: Daemen is 5-1 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, 2014...in their earlier matchup this season back on Oct. 2, the teams traded sets until Daemen emerged victorious in five, getting a season-high 18 kills from Ye Wang while the Drzymala sisters both recorded double-doubles and setter Katie McKrell notched 54 assists...Cassie Palmer paced the Lions with 10 kills.

KEEPING PACE: Daemen's match versus Roberts Wesleyan last week marked the beginning of the second round of conference play...at 7-3, 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 Bridgeport (10-1), Dowling remains competitive in second place (9-2), and it appears that the top five teams will battle for the four ECC Tournament berths...at present, LIU Post (6-5) 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 this season 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.

WEEKLY HONORS: Following Daemen's winning week against RWC and Mercy, a pair of Wildcats picked up East Coast Conference weekly accolades for matched played Oct. 19-25… sophomore setter Katie McKrell was named ECC Setter of the Week after posting 76 assists in the two wins and averaged 12.67 assists per set… McKrell also chipped in with 15 digs, four kills and two blocks during the week…her efforts earned her ECC Setter of the Week honors for the second time this season… McKrell totaled 42 assists against RWC which marks the sixth match this season that the sophomore setter chipped in at least 40 helpers… McKrell is currently fifth in the ECC for total assists with 797 while also placing fourth in assists per set with 9.72… this is the fourth time and the third week in a row that Ashley Drzymala earned Rookie of the Week honors by the ECC… Drzymala totaled 22 kills to add to her team-leading season total of 288 kills… she is currently third in the league in total kills and kills pet set with 3.51, and second in service aces with 44… her eighth double-double of the season was marked against RWC with 10 kills and 10 digs… six of her last double-double have come in the team's last nine outings.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats will return home on Saturday, November 7 at 11:00 a.m. in an ECC match up against NYIT and continue competition against LIU Post on Sunday, November 8 at 10:30 a.m in the team's 2015 regular-season home finales.

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.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Lindsey Nowak: OH/RS; 5' 10"; Senior

#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

#6 Lindsey Nowak
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH/RS

#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