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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Recap vs. Roberts
3
Winner Daemen DAE 21-6 (12-1)
1
Roberts Wesleyan RWCVB 8-15 (5-8)
Winner
Daemen DAE
21-6 (12-1)
3
Final
1
Roberts Wesleyan RWCVB
8-15 (5-8)
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Daemen DAE 25 25 18 25 (3)
Roberts Wesleyan RWCVB 23 16 25 14 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Lea Sobieraski, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcats Clinch Outright ECC Regular Season Championship

Daemen Downs Roberts Wesleyan 3-1

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's volleyball team captured the outright regular season East Coast Conference Championship in the 3-1 defeat of host Roberts Wesleyan College this evening at the Voller Athletic Center.  The Wildcats ousted their longtime rivals 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 25-14 for their 13th straight win.
 
Daemen improved to 21-6 overall and 12-1 in the ECC with tonight's victory.  Roberts Wesleyan fell to 8-15 overall and 5-8 in the East Coast Conference. 
 
The Wildcats had already locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament and hosting privileges in their straight-set sweep over the University of Bridgeport at Lumsden Gymnasium last weekend.  With RWC losing and Long Island University Post defeating Molloy College tonight, the Redhawks have officially been eliminated from ECC Tournament contention while the Pioneers clinched the No. 4 seed in the tourney.  N.Y. Institute of Technology beat Bridgeport to earn the No. 2 seed, making Bridgeport the No. 3 seed in the four-team tournament.  Daemen will match up against LIU Post next Friday night (November 18)  in the semifinals at 5 p.m. with NYIT and Bridgeport meeting in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m.  The tournament finals are set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 19.
 
Sophomore Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) paced the Wildcats tonight as she registered her 14th double-double of the season, 10 of which have come in the last 14 outings.  The reigning ECC Rookie of the Year put down a match-high 14 kills while adding 12 digs and three service aces.  Drzymala converted 42-percent of her attack attempts in the match.

Her sister, senior Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) chipped in offensively with 11 kills, while freshman setter Bailey Dolegowski (Marilla, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) posted her seventh double-double (44 assists, 13 digs) in the last eight matches. It marked Dolegowski's 12th match this season with 40 or more assists as she chases the ECC assists crown, currently ranking second with 923 helpers this season.

Additional offensive production came from a trio of freshmen as Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden), Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania/Targu Mures) and Melissa Postek (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) combined for 22 kills.

Alexandre Tahauri (Hesperia, Calif.) led the Redhakws with 11 kills while Anjali Thomson (Mission Viejo, Calif.) chipped in with nine.

The two teams traded points early in the opening set, with the score tied 4-4.  Daemen scored three points in a row on the serve of Alicia Contreras (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia), followed up by a Redhawk error to take the 10-6 lead.  Roberts responded with their own run, capped by service ace from Shelby Strausbaugh (Alden, N.Y.) to steal the lead 11-10.  The squads continued to battle back and forth to find themselves even at 17.  Ashley Drzymala nailed down a kill to retake the lead, 18-17.  However Thomson answered with a kill of her own, evening the score once again.  RWC built a 21-19 advantage that featured another kill from Thomson, but Daemen fought back to tie the set, 22-22.  The Wildcats were able to notch the final two points of the set, which included a monstrous block from Ballou and Dolegowski to take the 25-23 victory.
 
The second set began in similar see-saw fashion, with the teams tied 3-3 in the early going. Tthe Wildcats went on a four-point run to take the 8-4 lead.  Daemen continued to build their margin, with four-straight points on the serve of Amber Drzymala to take a 12-6 advantage. Postekchammered down a kill beating the Redhawks' defense to widen the gap (18-11).  Ultimately, the Redhawks were unable to catch the Wildcats who cruised to a 25-16 conquest. 
 
With a two-sets-to-zero advantage, Daemen took the early 5-2 lead in the third, ignited by a service ace from Apostol and an RWC net violation.  Roberts crawled back to even the score at 8-8 on a service ace by Kristina Button (Davison, Mich.).  The Redhawks scored six of the next seven points to take their largest lead of the night at 14-9.  The Drzymala sisters each powered down a kill to crawl back within three, 14-11. A Daemen violation followed by a big block from Button and Katie Steger (Hilton, N.Y.) gave Roberts the 18-14 edge. RWC continued to command the Wildcats to be victorious (25-18), fueled by kills from Tahauri and Seger, forcing a fourth set.
 
The teams continued to trade points back-and-forth in the fourth set, with the longtime rivals tied at 7-7.  Roberts forced a Daemen timeout after winning five of the next six points to break the tie, and lead 12-8.  But, the Wildcats regrouped and took complete control with a 12-1 tear resulting in a dominating 20-13 lead.  Ashley Drzymala served three consecutive aces, followed by a Redhawk mistake to put an end to the set and match, 25-14.

The win tonight came after the Wildcats nabbed the No. 1 spot in the second NCAA Division II East Region poll, which was released yesterday afternoon.  After a second place ranking last week, the Wildcats overtook NYIT to sit on top of the the poll.  This marked the first time ever a Daemen team has earned a No. 1 regional ranking at the Division II level.
 
Daemen closes out the regular season this Sunday, November 13 at Lumsden Gymnasium against Mercy College.  The Wildcats host the Mavericks in the regular season finale, which is set to start at 12:00 p.m.  Sunday's game marks the final regular season home contest in the careers of Daemen seniors Amber Drzymala and Alicia Contreras who will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
 
For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's volleyball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter.
 
 
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