Volleyball Faces League Leaders In Regular Season Finales

Wildcats Look To Keep Slim Playoff Hopes Alive

THE LEAD: The Daemen College volleyball team faces stiff tests in their regular season finales as they attempt to keep their hopes for an ECC Tournament berth alive in road matches against league frontrunners University of Bridgeport and Dowling College.

Thursday, November 12 (at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium, Bridgeport, Conn.)
Daemen at Bridgeport, 7 p.m.
DAEMEN ROSTER / BRIDGEPORT ROSTER
LIVE STATS

Friday, November 13 (at Dowling Gymnasium, Oakdale, N.Y.)
Daemen at Dowling, 11 a.m.
DAEMEN ROSTER / DOWLING ROSTER
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 (12-15, 7-7 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 went 11-6 over their next 17 matches between September 12 through October 25...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...Daemen enters this week's matches after suffering four-straight losses, including three consecutive gut-wrenching, five-set affairs...a loss at Molloy on Halloween Day snapped Daemen's four-match winning streak in matches that go the distance, and following last weekend's home losses to NYIT and LIU Post, the Wildcats are 4-4 in five-set matches this season...Ashley Drzymala has put up big numbers to lead the team in her rookie campaign, recording double-figure kills in 21 of the Wildcats' last 23 matches, while posting 12 double-doubles...she notched a career-high 24 kills in a non-league win over Le Moyne on September 16, and matched that total in a road win at LIU Post on October 10, while adding a career-high 18 digs versus the Pioneers...through 27 matches this season, she leads the team in kills (360) and service aces (51), and she currently ranks second among all ECC players in total kills, kills per set (3.60) and service aces...Wang, who has tallied 245 kills and a team-best 78 blocks this season, is currently one of just three players in the league with a hitting percentage over .300 for the season, ranking second at .331...Amber Drzymala has been a solid two-way player as well, posting 247 kills and 263 digs...McKrell's 987 total assists rank fourth in the ECC, as does her 9.87 assists per set...additional production has come from Reeser (159 kills) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (337 digs).

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (21-8, 13-1 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 18 of their last 20...UB's lone losses in that stretch came in a non-league matchup with Adelphi on October 9, and in their only defeat in league play against NYIT on October 22...the Purple Knights enter Thursday's match with Daemen riding a five-match winning streak...that includes a 3-2 victory over Dowling on November 10, a win that gives the Purple Knights a two-match lead in the loss column over the second-place Golden Lions...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 four times this season, and she's totaled 383 kills and 355 digs to date, ranking first in the league in total kills and kills per set (3.68), and seventh in total digs...Rich, a freshman setter from Colorado, has put up 1,060 assists to rank second in the ECC presently...Guinci, who came across the pond from France to UB, leads the league with 470 digs...Rosa has chipped in with 259 kills, 206 digs and 40 blocks...additional production has come from Frida Randen (210 kills, 90 blocks, .309 hitting percentage), Sara Cruz (209 kills, 160 digs) and Jade Zhao (148 kills, 67 blocks)...Bridgeport is ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II East Region poll.

THE GOLDEN LIONS (23-6, 11-3 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...after opening the season with nine wins in their first 13 matches, Dowling has dropped only two matches since September 22, going 14-2 in that span...both setbacks came against league-leading Bridgeport, including a five-set loss to the Purple Knights earlier this week which snapped the Golden Lions' nine-match winning streak...newcomer Weronika Wiezik, a native of Poland, has teamed with Kalbfleisch to give the Golden Lions a potent one-two punch offensively...Wiezik leads the team, and ranks fifth in the ECC, with 318 kills this season, while Kalbfleisch has put down 308 kills and added 265 digs...Dillman leads the league in total assists (1,103) and ranks second in assists per set (10.21)...freshman libero Taylor Tekeda has emerged as the team's top back-row defender with 445 digs which ranks second in the league...in the middle, returners Katarzyna Klocek (236 kills, 74 blocks) and Dragana Jelovac (240 kills, 75 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 (202 kills, 70 blocks), Nicole Parkas (317 digs) and Morgan (219 digs)...the Golden Lions are ranked No. 3 in the latest NCAA Division East Region poll.

THE HISTORY VS. BRIDGEPORT: Daemen is searching for its first win against perennial powerhouse Bridgeport who is looking for their third-straight sweep of the season series...Daemen pushed the Purple Knights to five sets here at Lumsden Gym in the teams' 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...UB walked away with a three-set victory in the teams' previous matchup this season back on October 17 in Amherst...Katarina Krstonosic (11 kills, 12 digs), Sarah Rosa (10 kills) and Ellie Rich (34 assists) paced the Purple Knights while Daemen got a match-high 14 kills from Ashley Drzymala in defeat.

THE HISTORY VS. DOWLING: Since joining the ECC in 2013, Daemen is 1-4 in the all-time series versus Dowling, winning the teams' first-ever meeting as conference foes before the Golden Lions have ripped off four-straight wins...Daemen took down the Golden Lions in four sets 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 teams met in Amherst this season on October 16, a four-set win for the visiting Golden Lions as Kalbfleisch continued her dominance in the series (18 kills, 17 digs)...Ashley Drzymala notched 12 kills and 15 digs, while Amber Drzymala and Jenna Reeser split 20 kills for the Wildcats in defeat.

DON'T STOP BELIEVING: After being in the driver's seat headed towards an ECC Tournament berth for much of the season, Daemen's recent four-match slide has left the team reeling as the regular season winds down, but the Wildcats are still alive in the playoff hunt...at 7-7 and in fifth place in the league standings, the Wildcats enter their final two regular season matches chasing fourth-place LIU Post (20-9, 8-6 ECC) for the final ECC Tournament berth...the Wildcats will need at least a split of their matches against Bridgeport and Dowling, but more than likely they'll need to win both, while also getting help from LIU Post's remaining opponents...that help already started as the Pioneers fell on Tuesday night at NYIT, and they'll host Mercy (November 12) and Queens (November 14) to closeout their ECC slate this week...if LIU Post falls to Mercy, a three-way tie between Daemen, LIU Post and Queens becomes possible should Daemen win both its matches, and if Queens comes out on top against the Pioneers on Saturday...any ties will be broken using the ECC tie-breaker system which first takes into account head-to-head sets won, and progresses to match records against conference opponents in descending order, beginning with the league's regular season champion...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.

ON THE SHELF?: Senior middle blocker Ye Wang's status for this week's matches is unknown at this point...Wang left Sunday's match versus LIU Post and did not return after suffering an injury early in the second set...if the 6-foot-1 Wang can't go, it'll be a significant blow to the Daemen lineup as she's totaled 245 kills this season, while leading the team in hitting percentage (.331) and total blocks (78).

McKRELL MILESTONE: With 987 assists so far this season, sophomore setter Katie McKrell is closing in on the 1,000-assist benchmark for the season...should she accomplish that feat, she would become just the fifth player in program history to record 1,000 assists in a single season, and the first to do so since Kimmie Mack pulled it off in 2009, posting 1,024 helpers that season...McKrell, who has been named ECC Setter of the Week three times this season, has appeared in 55 matches in her two-year career to date, posting 1,599 assists.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Much attention has been paid this season to Daemen's freshman outside hitter Ashley Drzymala who ranks among the league leaders in kills and service aces, and rightfully so...Drzymala also ranks 49th nationally, and fourth among all NCAA Division II freshman, in total kills (360)...but, Daemen has also gotten production from a trio of unsung freshmen in libero Kailey Ballou, middle blocker/right-side hitter Courtney Bernard and middle blocker/right-side hitter Karissa Hegens...Ballou has appeared in all 100 sets this season, and has totaled 337 digs and 42 service aces...she ranks 10th in the ECC in total digs and digs per set (3.37), and fourth in service aces...in 27 matches, Ballou has 20 matches of double-figure digs, including a career-high 22 versus Bemidji State and Le Moyne...Bernard and Hegens, both 6-feet tall, have come on in recent matches to give first-year head coach Bob Maxwell even more depth at the net...65-percent of Bernard's total kills for the season have come since October 25, as she's hitting .262 in the team's last five matches...she notched a career-best seven kills in last Saturday's loss to NYIT, and followed that up with a career-best seven blocks in Sunday's heart-breaking loss to LIU Post...Hegens hit .222 and totaled a career-best eight kills versus LIU Post as well last Sunday.

BABY STEPS: Even if things don't fall in place for Daemen to secure its first-ever ECC Tournament berth this week, it's been somewhat of a remarkable turn-around for a Wildcat team that won just two matches all of last season...and, the resurgence has come against a difficult schedule...to date, 10 of Daemen's 15 losses this season have come against teams that are presently ranked in their respective regional polls...three of those 10 losses have been five-set affairs...add it all up and Daemen is a team on the rise...the Wildcats will lose only seniors Ye Wang and Mackenzie Knihinicki to graduation, meaning they'll welcome back players responsible for 80-percent of their total kills, 99-percent of their total assists, 98-percent of their service aces and 97-percent of their total digs.

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.

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Players Mentioned

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

#14 Mackenzie Knihinicki: MB; 5' 9"; Senior

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

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

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

#9 Courtney Bernard: MB/RS; 6' 0"; Freshman

#6 Karissa Hegens: MB/RS; 6' 0"; Freshman

#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

#14 Mackenzie Knihinicki
: 5' 9"; Senior
: MB

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

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

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

#9 Courtney Bernard
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB/RS

#6 Karissa Hegens
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB/RS

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

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

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