THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team opens the 2015 season this weekend when it takes part in the Riverfront Classic hosted by Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.
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…Friday's volleyball match against Lock Haven will mark the first event for Daemen as an official Division II member…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.
THE SCHEDULE: Daemen will play four matches over two days. All matches take place on the campus of GVSU.
Friday, Sept. 4
Daemen vs. Lock Haven, 12 p.m. LIVE STATS
Daemen vs. Bemidji State, 4:30 p.m. LIVE STATS
Saturday, Sept. 5
Daemen vs. Quincy, 10 a.m. LIVE STATS
Daemen vs. Concordia (Ore.) 2 p.m. LIVE STATS
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: 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).
THE BALD EAGLES: Lock Haven is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and was voted second in the PSAC East preseason poll…the Bald Eagles posted a 20-11 overall record and a 14-8 mark in the PSAC last fall…head coach Dan Kreiger returns seven players from last year's team, including all-conference selections Jessica Brown, Megan Flick and Sarah Gomish…Brown, a senior setter and defensive specialist, led the team in assists (1,199), services aces (53) and digs (396) last year…Flick ranked second in kills (264), third in blocks (55) and fourth in digs (193), while Gomish totaled 191 kills and 194 digs last year as a freshman.
THE BEAVERS: Bemidji State is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and was voted 14th in the NSIC preseason poll…the Beavers posted a 5-23 overall record and a 3-15 mark in the NSIC last fall…head coach Wayne Chadwick returns nine players from last year's team…juniors Jessica Yost and Amanda Tronick and junior Kayla DeJong top the list of returning players…Yost totaled a team-high 300 kills last year and also ranked second in service aces (23), third in blocks (48) and fourth in digs (204)…Tronick ranked second in kills (248) and fourth in blocks (46)…DeJong, a junior libero, returns after totaling a team-high 436 digs last year.
THE HAWKS: Quincy is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and was voted sixth in the GLVC West preseason poll…the Hawks posted an 11-18 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the GLVC last fall…head coach Bob Crank returns 14 players from last year's team…sophomores Miranda Rodriguez and Bekah Raebel and junior Emily Lindemulder top the list of returning players…Rodriguez posted a team-high 576 assists last year as a rookie and also ranked third on the team in digs (233)…Raebel ranked second in kills (237) and third in blocks (84) as a freshman, while Lindemulder totaled 170 kills, 18 service aces and 106 blocks.
THE CAVALIERS: Concordia (Ore.) is a first-year member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and was voted seventh in the GNAC preseason poll…Concordia is in the process of gaining NCAA Division II membership and was approved by the NCAA Membership Committee to advance to year two of the membership process this past summer…the Cavaliers posted a 19-10 overall record last year and earned a bid to the NAIA Tournament…head coach Melanie Hambelton returns 10 players from last year's team, including all-conference selections Lindsey Dorsey and Brianna Hogan…Dorsey racked up a team-high 350 kills last year and also totaled 145 digs and 60 blocks…Hogan totaled 259 kills and a team-high 134 blocks…junior setter Jenessa Taylor also returns after totaling a team-high 1,086 assists.
ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen will play 12 of its first 13 matches away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium…Daemen has played 140 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 109 of the 140 matches have been played away from Lumsden Gym…the Wildcats are 59-50 (.541) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until next weekend (Sept. 11-12) when they travel to New Haven, Conn. to take part in the University of New Haven Charger Invitational.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics / @DaemenVB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
