ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Daemen College volleyball team opened its 2015 season this afternoon, suffering a 3-0 loss (19-25, 24-26, 21-25) to Lock Haven University in the opening round of the Grand Valley State University Laker Riverfront Classic held at Fieldhouse Arena.

The match officially marked the beginning of the Bob Maxwell era for the Daemen volleyball program.  Maxwell, who won more than 400 matches in an 18-year tenure as the head coach at the University at Buffalo, took the reins of the program after being appointed in July.  In addition to Maxwell's Daemen coaching debut, the match marked the return of 6-foot-1 middle blocker Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen) to the Wildcat lineup.  Wang, a first-team All-East Coast Conference performer who led the team in kills (397) and blocks (97) in 2013, sat out during a red-shirt season in 2014.

The combination of Maxwell and Wang wasn't enough to lead Daemen to a win in their season opener, however, falling to a tough LHU squad that posted a 20-11 overall record and a 14-8 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference last season.  All-PSAC player Sarah Gomish paced a balanced attack for the Bald Eagles with 10 kills while also notching 12 digs.  Setter Jessica Brown tallied 30 assists and eight digs in the win.

Wang sent home a team-best eight kills without committing an attack error in 17 attempts (.471 hitting percentage) and added three block assists and a solo block in her return.  She was matched in the kill department by sophomore Rachel Stephenson (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) who established a new career-best in the category.  Sophomore setter Katie McKrell (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) contributed 29 assists and freshman Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden) made her debut as the team's starting libero, notching a match-high 16 digs.

A back-and-forth first set saw neither team establish more than a three-point lead until LHU won eight of the final 10 points, stretching a slim 17-16 edge into a six-point gap (25-19) at set's end.  Brittany Moyer sent down two kills and a service ace in the run for LHU.

The second set provided much of the same with both teams trading small runs.  Daemen eventually broke a 14-all tie and rattled off three quick points, including back-to-back kills by the sister-duo of junior Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) and freshman Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster), prompting a timeout by the Bald Eagles.

Out of the timeout, LHU took three of the next four points to close the gap to one (18-17).  The teams then traded the next several points before LHU struck for four-out-of-five, turning a one-point deficit (20-21) into a one-point lead (23-22).  A kill by Wang pulled Daemen even at 23-apiece, and another by the elder Drzymala knotted the score at 24-24.  LHU closed out the set with back-to-back kills, one from Megan Flick and the other from Moyer, two of the 14 kills they split in the match.

The third set was hotly contested as well as Daemen attempted to prolong the match.  After falling behind 11-9, Daemen won seven of the next 11 points to take a slim 16-15 lead. But, the Wildcats surrendered the next four points, and six of the next eight, falling behind 21-18.  Daemen would pull within two points twice late in the set, but LHU pulled away by taking three of the last four points, ending on a kill from Gabrielle Stala.

LHU was marginally better than Daemen at the net, recording 37 kills in 104 attempts while committing 20 errors (.163 hitting percentage), compared to Daemen's 31 kills, 16 errors and 111 attempts (.135 hitting percentage).  The Bald Eagles also did the job defensively, recording 54 digs compared to Daemen's 43, while also putting down seven service aces.

There's little time for the Wildcats to hang their heads.  Their second tournament game tips off at 4:30 p.m. today versus Bemidji State University.  

For continuing coverage of the Daemen volleyball team throughout the 2015 season., follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter