Senior middle blocker Ye Wang competes in the final home matches of her career this weekend

Women's Volleyball 11/6/2015 11:00:00 AM

Volleyball Hosts Huge ECC Matches This Weekend

Wildcats Look To Jump Back In Win Column To Stay On Course For Postseason Bid

THE LEAD: The Daemen College volleyball team closes the home portion of its 2015 regular season by hosting N.Y. Institute of Technology and Long Island University Post this weekend in a pair of East Coast Conference matches that have huge implications for the upcoming ECC Tournament.

Saturday, November 7 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. NYIT, 11:00 a.m.
DC ROSTER / NYIT ROSTER / DC STATS / NYIT STATS
LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAMING VIDEO / GAME PROGRAM

Sunday, November 8 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. LIU Post, 10:30 a.m.
DC ROSTER / LIU POST ROSTER / DC STATS / LIU POST 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 (12-13, 7-5 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 is coming off a rough road trip to the New York City metropolitan area last weekend where they suffered back-to-back defeats to Queens and Molloy, resulting in a split of the season series against both opponents...the loss to Molloy was a five-set affair and it snapped Daemen's four-match winning streak in matches that go the distance (Daemen is 4-2 in five-set matches this season)...Ashley Drzymala has put up big numbers to lead the team in her rookie campaign thus far...she has recorded double-figure kills in 19 of the Wildcats' last 21 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 10 double-doubles this season, eight of which have come in the last 11 matches...through 25 matches this season, she leads the team in kills (321) and service aces (48)...she currently ranks tied for second in the ECC in total kills and third in kills per set (3.57)...Wang, who has tallied 225 kills and a team-best 73 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, ranking second at .327...Amber Drzymala has chipped in with 218 kills and 229 digs...McKrell's 886 total assists rank thid in the ECC and her 9.84 assists per set ranks fourth...additional production has come from Reeser (146 kills) sophomore Rachel Stephenson (69 kills, 27 blocks) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (312 digs).

THE BEARS (19-5, 7-4 ECC): NYIT is led by head coach Gail Wasmus who is in her 30th year overall, and the 19th year of her second stint leading the program...in that time, Wasmus amassed a record of 548-394 while turning the Bears into a premier program of the East Region...NYIT was voted fourth in the ECC preseason poll...the Bears return 11 players from last season's roster which achieved an overall mark of 13-17 (team's first season below .500 since 2009), and an 8-8 mark in ECC play…the Bears welcome back their top three attackers in Emily Mankowski (295 kills, 28 service aces in 2014), Karolina Moderova (247 kills, 39 service aces in 2014) and Kate Brock (249 kills, 33 service aces in 2014), as well as their top setter, Allison Fowler (792 assists in 2014), and their best back-row defender, Becky Syers (477 digs in 2014)…Brock added a team-high 115 blocks and earned first-team All-ECC honors last season...the Bears began the season with eight-straight wins including an ECC win against Queens College…a four-set loss at league-leading Bridgeport on September 24 halted the Bears winning streak and started a stretch in which NYIT recorded a lone victory over four matches...NYIT regrouped with non-league wins over Caldwell and Chestnut Hill on October 3 and has gone 10-2 over their last 12 matches...included in that stretch is a five-set win at home over Bridgeport as the Bears handed the Purple Knights their only league loss of the season to date...NYIT is coming off of a straight-set loss to Dowling in its last match on October 29…Moderova has led the team's offense thus far, racking up 281 kills and comes in second for the Bears with 29 service aces...Mankowski has totaled 238 kills thus far...both Moderova (.225 hitting percentage) and Mankowski (.279 hitting percentage) are attacking at a greater efficiency than they did last season when they hit .122 and .179, respectively...Moderova has added 210 digs and is placed second in blocks with 48...Fowler has racked up 855 assists, ranking fifth in the league in total assists while topping all ECC players in assists per set with 10.18...additional production has come from Brock who leads the team with 60 blocks while adding 178 kills, and Syers (360 digs)...freshman Portia McIntosh has totaled 189 digs to lead the Bears' newcomers...NYIT plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Friday night before visiting Daemen on Saturday.

THE PIONEERS (18-8, 6-5 ECC): Shellane Ogoshi is in her seventh season as head coach of the Pioneers...Ogoshi, whose career record stands at 137-89 heading into this weekend, led the Pioneers to their most successful campaign in 2013 with a 25-10 record and the first NCAA East Region title in school history along with a ACVA's final top-25 ranking…last season, LIU Post went 20-14 overall, including an 11-5 mark in the ECC...the Pioneers advanced to the conference tournament championship where they fell to Bridgeport in three sets, but still earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament...the Pioneers return just five players from last season, but the returners include second-team All-ECC pick Melissa Hansen and the 2014 ECC Rookie of the Year, Danielle Valenza...Hansen totaled 219 kills and led the league in total blocks with 118, while Valenza led the Pioneers and ranked third in the league in total kills (363) last season...the Pioneers, who welcome nine newcomers to their roster, received three first-place votes and finished second in the ECC preseason poll...after going 5-3 in back-to-back tournaments to open the season, the Pioneers won 10 of the next 12 matches..the pair of losses in that stretch came to defending ECC champ Bridgeport on September 29 which snapped LIU Post's five-match winning streak, and a five-set match to Daemen on October 10...since then, the Pioneers are 4-3, and they are coming off a four-set loss to league-leading Bridgeport on October 27...the Pioneers last win came over Molloy on October 22...Valenza has been the offensive catalyst thus far, topping the team with 277 kills...newcomers Rachel Londot leads the conference with .57 aces per set and the team with 94 total aces, 307 digs and holds a second spot on the team with 237 kills… Taryn McCullouch has made an immediate impact as well, leading the team with 51 blocks and ranking third on the team with 159 kills… freshman setter Giulia Genna has racked up 869 assists, ranking fourth in the ECC...LIU Post plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday before visiting Daemen on Sunday.

THE HISTORY VS. NYIT: Daemen is 2-4 against the Bears since 2012... NYIT came out on top in the teams' first match up of the 2015 season… Mankowski and Moderova combined for 33 kills while Syers added 22 digs… Ashley Drzymala led the Wildcats with 15 kills… NYIT swept the season series last year after the two teams split the season series in 2013...NYIT got on the board in the series with 3-0 win (25-18, 25-12, 25-16) in Old Westbury, N.Y on September 28, 2013...Shelby Cable notched 17 kills and Marija Jovanovic added 39 assists for the Bear victory...Daemen would rebound with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) at Lumsden Gymnasium on October 26, 2013...Kaitlin Watchey, Ye Wang and Lindsey Nowak led a balanced attack with nine kills each to keep Daemen on top while Kaley Vazquez tallied 16 assists…Daemen took down the Bears in their only matchup in 2012…the 3-1 win for Daemen (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 25-14) was led by Lindsey Nowak who tallied 16 kills for the Wildcats…Wang also added nine kills during the contest while Chelsea Turcer put up 20 assists.

THE HISTORY VS. LIU POST: Daemen is 2-3 against LIU Post since joining the ECC in 2013...Daemen was able to pull out a five-set victory over the Pioneers earlier this season…Ashley and Amber Drzymala combined for 39 kills on the day while McKrell led the team with 51 assists… the Pioneers swept the season series in 2014... the first matchup in 2013 was won by the Pioneers in four sets (23-25, 25-15, 25-9, 25-17) on September 27…Ye Wang added 13 kills on the day but it was no match for Lulu Centro's 34 assists and Shelby McCool's 12 kills...Daemen came out on top in the second and final matchup of the season in a four-set match (25-17, 14-25, 25-22, 26-24) on October 25…the victory in Lumsden Gymnasium was due to the ball movement of Kaley Vazquez and Chelsea Turcer who each tallied 16 assists to the hands of Kaitlin Watchey, Wang and Lindsey Nowak who each put down nine kills…Amber Drzymala added a pair of aces and 12 digs in the win.

KEEPING PACE: At 7-5, Daemen is clinging to fourth place in the ECC standings as they battle for a berth in the ECC Tournament later this month...if the ECC Tournament started today, Daemen be placed right behind NYIT (7-4)…this weekend's competition places a lot of pressure on each team...while everyone chases Bridgeport (11-1), Dowling remains competitive in second place (11-2), 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.

SENIOR SALUTE: The weekend's competitions will mark the final home matches in the careers of Daemen seniors Ye Wang and Mackenzie Knihinicki…Wang, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker and Accounting major, has made her mark as one of the finest players in team history...she has totaled 1,187 kills and 418 blocks to date, helping Daemen to an 88-48 record in her four seasons...she is currently second in the conference with a .327 hitting percentage while leading the team in blocks with 73...in her freshman season, Wang was named the American Mideast Conference and American Volleyball Coaches Association NAIS Northeast Region Freshman of the Year…in her sophomore year, she was named to the USCAA National Championship All-Tournament Team and earned USCAA second-team All-America and second-team All-ICAA honors… in 2013, Wang was a first-team All-ECC selection, first-team USCAA All-American and was named MVP of the USCAA National Championships...Knihinicki is a 5-foot-9 middle blocker majoring in Social Work...she has totaled 107 kills and 69 blocks for the Wildcats in her career…in 2013, she was the recipient of the ECC's John Smilie, Jr. Award which is given annually to a student-athlete who has overcome personal or physical challenges to pursue their intercollegiate athletic career…2014 was the season that Knihinicki saw the most extensive playing time in her career, appearing in 28 matches…she led the team in solo blocks (8) and total blocks (39)...both players will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to Sunday's match versus LIU Post.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats continue their quest for an ECC Tournament berth, closing out the regular season on the road by visiting ECC front-runners Bridgeport (November 12) and Dowling (November 13).

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

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

#4 Chelsea Turcer: S/DS; 5' 7"; Senior

#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

#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

#4 Chelsea Turcer
: 5' 7"; Senior
: S/DS

#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

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

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

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