| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College women's volleyball team journeys to battle defending conference champions University of Bridgeport Sunday, October 9...both teams are at the top of the conference, the Purple Knights rank second with an unblemished record and the Wildcats sit at third...match time is set to start at 12:00 p.m. |
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| GAME INFORMATION |
| Daemen vs. Bridgeport |
| Date:Â Sunday, October 9 |
Time:Â 12:00 p.m. |
Location:Â Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium- Bridgeport, Conn. |
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| GAME LINKS |
| Daemen Roster |
Daemen Schedule |
Daemen Stats |
| Bridgeport Roster |
Bridgeport Schedule |
Bridgeport Stats |
| Live Stats |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenVB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| Bridgeport Twitter:Â |
@PKnights |
| Bridgeport Hashtags: |
#WeAreUB, #UBUKNOW |
| Game Hashtags: |
#DAEvsUB |
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| ON THE SIDELINES |
Daemen: Â Stephanie Albano enters her first season as the head women's volleyball coach at Daemen...she was promoted to the position after serving as the Associate Head Coach in 2015...a Western New York native, she led Lancaster High School to the 2004 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship...she went on to help the University of North-Carolina-Chapel Hill capture two Atlantic Coast Conference championships throughout her college career (2005-2009)...previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo in 2014...helped the Bulls to a 17-15 record and the program's first Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance since 2010...began her coaching debut at Canisius College as an assistant from 2009-10...later was the Associate Head Coach at Medaille from 2012-2014...helped the Mavericks earn their first ever AMCC championship and NCAA tournament appearance..assisted by 2014 Daemen graduate Kaley Vazquez and Don Gleason.
Bridgeport:  Gary Mullin entered his third season as head coach for the Purple Knights in 2016…he has led UB to two consecutive ECC titles, increasing the streak to four championships…previously he served as the assistant women's volleyball coach at Trinity College for five seasons…a 1974 graduate of Yale University, Mulllin played volleyball for Bulldogs and earned All-American honors…was a member of the United States Volleyball Team at the 1973 World University Games…coached the men's volleyball team at his alma mater into the NCAA Division Final Four. |
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| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (10-6, 4-1 ECC) |
| Daemen returns seven players to the 2016 squad while adding seven new faces...four starters return as well as the Wildcats' top libero...the Wildcats were recently voted to finish fourth in the East Conference this season, according to the ECC preseason poll, after compiling a 12-17 overall and 7-9 conference record in 2015...ECC Rookie of the Year Ashley Drzymala, returns as a powerhouse outside hitter after a stellar freshman season...Drzymala led the league in both kills per set (3.60) and service aces per set (0.51) while racking up 12 double-doubles...the Wildcats also welcome back her sister, senior leader Amber Drzymala who finished second on the team in total attacks (934), kills (257) and kills per set (2.60)...junior Katie Mckrell returns at the setting position...the three-time ECC Setter of the Week in 2015 became the fifth player in team history to reach over 1,000 helpers in a single season...rounding out the returning starters is junior middle blocker/right-side hitter Rachel Stephenson who registered 31 blocks, ranking second behind graduate Ye Wang in 2015...sophomore libero Kailey Ballou is back after a strong defensive showing in 2015, highlighting the season with a pair of 22-dig performances...seven newcomers include four who have state championships under their belt, a Division I transfer, a strong setter from a commanding Colorado program, and a 6-foot-2 Romanian Junior National Team player...after going 5-3 over their first eight matches, Daemen has gone 1-2 since Sept. 14...a grueling five-set defeat at Le Moyne opened the span....Daemen held a 2-0 lead before Le Moyne rallied for the five-set victory...Amber Drzymala (18 kills, 12 digs), Ashley Drzymala (11 kills, 14 digs) and Bailey Dolegowski (52 assists, 15 digs) posted double-doubles for Daemen in defeat...the Wildcats rebounded with a 3-0 win at California (Pa.) on Sept. 17...the Drzymala sisters combined for 26 kills while Dolegowski registered 32 assists in the win...Dolegowski (Setter of the Week) and Amber Drzymala (Player of the Week) earned weekly honors from the ECC for Sept. 12-19...Daemen has gone 2-1 since Sept. 17, to be 8-5 on the season and 2-0 in conference action…they opened with a three-set loss to a Gannon team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last season… Daemen was led by Ashley Drzymala's 13 kills, eight digs and two service aces…the middle-blocking duo of Cristina Apostol and Courtney Bernard recorded three-blocks apiece, good for season-highs...the Wildcats jumped into ECC play, beating hosts Molloy and Queens College on Sept. 24 and 25…Courtney Bernard paved the way in the win over Molloy with 8 kills, good for a season-high .800 hitting percentage… Daemen rallied for a 3-2 victory over Queens after dropping the first two sets…Ashley Drzymala led the Wildcats with a team-high 12 kills, two service aces, eight digs and three blocks…her sister Amber Drzymala added nine kills, three aces and a team-high 15 digs…The Wildcats are 2-1 for the month of October, after losing in five sets to NYIT and beating LIU Post in straight sets…Ashley Drzymala posted double-doubles in both matches…She had a career high 25 kills and added 17 digs in the losing effort…Courtney Scanlan registered her first career double-double, 12 kills and 10 digs in the loss….the Wildcats are coming off a 3-1 victory over long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan …Amber Dryzmala surpassed 1000 career digs in the victory, she had 18 digs and 18 kills…Kailey Ballou and Alicia Contreras posted 13 and 11 digs respectively…the Drzymala sisters continue to shine both offensively and defensively this season… Ashley leads the team in kills (206) and kills per set (3.27), ranking third and fourth respectively, among all ECC players ...Amber ranks fifth in the ECC in kills (178) and seventh in kills per set (2.81)…her 180 digs ranks first on the team…for her career to date, Amber has posted 1002 digs and 847 kills…Dolegowski has paced the Daemen setters with 497 assists, she ranks fifth in the ECC in assists per set (8.72)…she sits fourth in the conference in service aces per set (0.42)…Bailey was also named ECC Rookie of the Week for the second time… in the middle, Bernard ranks third in the league in hitting percentage (.325)…her 107 kills rank fourth on the team, while she leads the Wildcats in total blocks with 29…Rachel Stephenson ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.382) …additional production has come from Courtney Scanlan (128 kills, .221 hitting percentage), Apostol (72 kills, 20 blocks) Sydney Macinnis (154 assists), Kailey Ballou (120 digs), and Meghan Ballou (58 kills,15 blocks) |
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| BRIDGEPORT REPORT (5-7, 3-0 ECC) |
| The Four-time defending ECC Champion Purple Knights were tabbed second in the 2016 preseason conference poll…Bridgeport is coming off a season in which they compiled a record of 27-9 and won their fourth straight ECC Championshp…7 players return from the 2015 squad, with the addition of 7 newcomers...Top returners include All-Conference First team Selection, Frida Randen, and last season's ECC Player of the Year, Katrina Krstonosic…Krstonosic led the conference in kills (450) and tied for first in kills per set (3.6)…Randen finished second in the conference in hitting percentage (.337) and led the Purple knights in blocks with 102…also back is senior Libero Amelie Guinci, she led the ECC in both digs (572) and digs per set (4.93) in 2015…Ellie Rich is back after turning in a stellar freshman campaign as the primary setter, she dished out 1308 assists and listed second in the conference in assists per set with 10.23...UB sits at 6-7 overall and 3-0 in conference games in 2016…the Purple knights opened their season with five straight losses, four of them came from their participation in the Palm Beach Atlantic Tournament…Bridgeport captured their first win in ECC action against LIU Post…freshman Claire Anderson and senior Sara Cruz played big parts in the win, they each posted double-doubles…Rich also finished with a double-double, dishing out 50 assists and tallying 13 digs…the following match they beat ECC foe, Mercy 3-0…freshman Morgan Knight finished with a double-double…UB finished the month of September 4-7, securing another conference victory over Queens to be 3-0 in the ECC… the Purple knights are coming off back-to-back wins over Felician and New Haven…Guinci currently leads the league in digs per set (5.29) and lists fourth in digs (238)…freshman Makayla Maroney sits at the top in blocks per set with 1.22…Rich continues to shine as the setting position, she ranks first in the conference in assists per set with 9.73 |
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| THE HISTORY |
| ALL-TIME: Â Bridgeport leads the series 6-0 |
| Previous Meetings: |
| Oct. 17, 2015 - Bridgeport 3, Daemen 0 |
(@ Daemen) |
GAME RECAP |
| Nov. 12, 2015 – Bridgeport 3, Daemen 0 |
(@Bridgeport) |
GAME RECAP |
| Sept. 20, 2014 – Bridgeport 3, Daemen 0 |
(@ Daemen) |
GAME RECAP |
| Oct. 17, 2014 – Bridgeport 3, Daemen 0 |
(@Bridgeport) |
GAME RECAP |
| Oct. 5, 2013 - Bridgeport 3, Daemen 2 |
(@ Daemen) |
GAME RECAP |
| Nov. 17, 2013 - Bridgeport 3, Daemen 1 |
(@Bridgeport) |
GAME RECAP |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| The Wildcats travel out of state to New Hampshire for non-conference action next Friday, October 14. Â Daemen faces off against the Ravens of Franklin Pierce before returning to ECC play the following day vs. Mercy. |
