THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's volleyball team heads to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. to compete in a tri-match against Mercy College and Bentley University on Saturday, September 26…both games will take place in the Mercy Gymnasium...Daemen will battle against Mercy at 10:00 a.m. in an East Coast Conference match, followed by a non-conference clash with Bentley University at 12:00 p.m....an exhibition match scheduled for Sunday, September 27 here at Daemen versus Durham College has been cancelled.

Saturday, Sept. 26
Daemen vs. Mercy, 10:00 a.m.
DC ROSTER / MC ROSTER / DC STATS / MC STATS / LIVE STATS

Daemen vs. Bentley, 12:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / BU ROSTER / DC STATS / BU STATS / LIVE STATS

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.

DAEMEN VOLLEYBALL PODCAST: Get the latest news and notes surrounding the Daemen volleyball team in episode four of the Daemen Volleball Podcast with play-by-play announcer Ryan Maxwell manning the mic...Maxwell recaps the Wildcats' recent matches, including a come-from-behind win over Le Moyne and last weekend's tri-match at Saint Rose, while also previewing this weekend's action.

THE WILDCATS (5-6, 0-0 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 assists (612), while Reeser ranked third in kills (165), fourth in blocks (25) and fifth in digs (96)…the Wildcats opened the 2015 season with back-to-back tournaments, partaking in the Grand Valley State University Laker Riverfront Classic and the Charger Invitational hosted by University of New Haven, going 3-5 over the eight-match span...freshman Ashley Drzymala named to the all-tournament team at the Charger Invitational after posting 57 kills, 34 digs and 12 service aces...the Wildcats ran their winning streak to three-straight by defeating Le Moyne in a five-set thriller at Lumsden Gymnasium on Sept. 16 in the team's 2015 home opener...the Drzymala sisters were key to the victory, combining for 49 kills while both setting personal career-highs (Amber - 25, Ashley - 24)...McKrell tossed in 57 assists and 16 digs for her second double-double of the season...the result marked the Wildcats' first five-set win since October 29, 2013 over Roberts Wesleyan, and the team's first five-set win when dropping the first two sets since September 3, 2011 in a neutral site match versus Oklahoma City University...last weekend, the Wildcats participated in a tri-match at Saint Rose, competing against a pair of NCAA tournament teams from last season...Clarion stopped Daemen's three-match winning streak in the tri-match opener, but the Wildcats rebounded to take down the host Golden Knights in three sets...through 11 matches this season, the younger Drzymala leads the team in kills (125) and service aces (26), ranking third in the country in service aces presently...the elder Drzymala and Wang have chipped in with 86 and 81 kills, respectively, while Wang leads the team in blocks (22)...McKrell's 350 total assists rank second in the ECC, and her 9.21 assists per set rank third...additional production has come from Reeser (54 kills, 10 blocks) sophomore Rachel Stephenson (44 kills, 19 blocks) and freshman libero Kailey Ballou (152 digs). 

THE MAVERICKS (4-8, 0-1 ECC): Mercy College is a member of the East Coast Conference and will be Daemen's first conference competitor in 2015...the Mavericks are led by head coach Kelly Wengerter who is currently in her third season at the helm...Wengerter 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)...Mercy opened the 2015 season at the Georgian Court University Lions Invitational dropping four-straight matches against Stonehill, Le Moyne, Caldwell and host GCU...but, the Mavericks have bounced back with four wins in their last eight matches, picking up non-conference victories over Dominican, Cheyney, Nyack and Felician...Mercy enters this weekend's tri-match riding a three-match losing skid, a span that includes an ECC loss to Roberts Wesleyan last Saturday, Sept. 19...three newcomers have led the way for Mercy thus far...freshman outside hitter Peyton Olson, a 5-foot-11 Oregon native, currently leads the ECC with 146 total kills, ranking fourth in the league in kills per set (3.24)...in the middle, 5-foot-10 freshman Eva Marie Lynch leads the league in total blocks (48) and blocks per set (1.09)...in the back, 5-foot-7 freshman Brianna Heffernan currently leads the league in total digs (192) while ranking fifth in digs per set (4.27)...additional production has come from Johnson (83 kills, 36 blocks) and setters Toni Parente (179 assists) and Michelle Luna (163 assists, 13 service aces).
 
THE FALCONS (6-4, 1-0 NE-10): Bentley University is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference and returns 11 players from last season...the Falcons are coached by Joey Pacis who led the Falcons to a 19-12 overall record, an 11-3 mark in the NE-10, an appearance in the NE-10 tournament championship and a run to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II East Regional in 2014, his first season at the helm...gone from that team are six seniors, including four of the team's top five attackers and its top setter, Alex Tator, a second-team All-NE-10 selection who totaled 979 assists and 231 digs last season...leading the returners is 2014 second-team All-NE-10 pick Jaci Buscher, a senior outside hitter and the team's kill leader (274) from last season...after going 1-3 in its own tournament to start the season, Bentley has gone 5-1 in its last six matches, and the Falcons enter this weekend's tri-match riding a five-match winning streak...the Falcons' opening weekend struggles included a three-set loss to ECC school LIU Post...Bentley's recent success was fostered at the Emerald Bay Hotel Javelina Invitational hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville...the Falcons knocked off the host Javelinas in four sets, and followed up with wins versus Saint Mary's (Texas) and Lubbock Christian to wind out its four matches in the Lone Star State...a home non-conference victory over Saint Anselm on Sept. 17 was then followed by a win in the Falcons' NE-10 opener at Merrimack earlier this week...Buscher's 95 kills lead the team heading into this weekend...freshman setter Krista Campbell has set the table with 269 assists thus far...additional production has come from junior outside hitter Lauren Van Buren (77 kills), senior libero Jessica Segal (173 digs) and senior outside/right-side hitter Stephanie Metzger (42 kills, 20 blocks).
 
THE HISTORY VS. MERCY: Saturday's match marks the fifth all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercy with the series knotted at 2-2...the Wildcats and Mavericks have split the season series in each of the last two years since Daemen joined the ECC, with each team winning on their home floor in all previous matchups...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.
 
THE HISTORY VS. BENTLEY: Saturday's match marks the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Falcons...although these two particular teams are strangers to one another, Daemen has had success against Northeast-10 Conference opponents, going 9-2 in matches against NE-10 teams since 2012...that includes a 3-1 record versus NE-10 teams already this season.
 
TOUGH TESTS: Saturday's match versus Bentley marks the Wildcats' fifth match this season against teams who earned bids to the NCAA tournament in 2014, and their seventh match against teams who won at least 19 matches last season...against NCAA tourney teams, the Wildcats have gone 1-3 to this point, breaking through with a win over Saint Rose last Saturday after three-straight defeats in such matches.

ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen will open the 2015 season by playing 13 of its first 14 matches away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium…Daemen has played 151 matches since the start of the 2011 season and 119 of the 151 matches have been played away from Lumsden Gym…the Wildcats are 63-56 (.529) on the road since the start of the 2011 season.

WANG'S MILESTONE: In a match versus Post on Sept. 11, middle blocker Ye Wang recorded the 1,000th kill of her career...a staple of the program since arriving on campus in 2011, in her years of competition, Wang has led the Wildcats to a 79-40 record to date, as well as back-to-back United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championships (2012, 2013)...in reaching the 1,000-kill plateau, she becomes the second Daemen player to do so in as many years joining former teammate Lindsey Nowak who achieved the milestone during her senior season in 2014.

WEEKLY HONORS: Following Daemen's split at the UNH Charger Invitational, a pair of Wildcats picked up weekly honors from the East Coast Conference for matches played Sept. 8-13...sophomore setter Katie McKrell was named ECC Setter of the Week after posting a league-leading 9.93 assists per set last week...McKrell topped 30 assists in all four matches, including a season-high 37 assists in the five-set loss to UNH...McKrell's 237 total assists this season presently ranks second in the ECC...freshman outside hitter Ashley Drzymala was named ECC Rookie of the Week after posting 57 kills, 34 digs and 12 service aces and a selection to the Charger Invitational all-tournament team last week...Drzymala's performances included a pair of double-doubles and she became the first Daemen player to garner Rookie of the Week honors since Daemen joined the ECC back in 2013...her 80 kills so far this season ranks fourth in the league and first among all ECC freshmen.
 
SUNDAY'S MATCH CANCELLED:  A complication related to Daemen's return travel from Saturday's matches has forced the cancellation of a scheduled exhibition match versus Durham College at Lumsden Gym on Sunday.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen starts a three-match week by traveling southwest to face Edinboro on Tuesday, Sept. 29 in their final non-conference match of the season...the Wildcats close the week by hosting Molloy (Friday, Oct. 2) and Queens (Saturday, Oct. 3) in a pair of ECC clashes...click HERE to view the Wildcats' complete 2015 schedule.

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.