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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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wvb ecc finals 11.19.16
3
Winner NY Inst. of Tech. NYIT 28-5
1
Daemen DAE 23-7
Winner
NY Inst. of Tech. NYIT
28-5
3
Final
1
Daemen DAE
23-7
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
NY Inst. of Tech. NYIT 25 25 24 25 (3)
Daemen DAE 23 21 26 20 (1)

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

Women's Volleyball Falls To NYIT 3-1 In ECC Championship

AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's volleyball team fell to N.Y. Institute of Technology in the East Coast Conference Championship match tonight inside Lumsden Gymnasium.  The No. 1-seeded Wildcats were ousted by the No. 4-seeded Bears in 4 sets (23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 20-25).
 
In the upset, the Bears put up 16 blocks, holding the Wildcats to a slim .117 hitting percentage.  Daemen controlled every other statistical category, but was unable to come away victorious.
 
Daemen falls to 23-7 on the year while NYIT improves to 28-5 overall and clinches the ECC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.  This was the first time Daemen played in the title game since joining the conference in 2013.  Tonight's win is NYIT's first ECC Volleyball Championship since 1990, the Bears are the first champion other than Bridgeport or Dowling since 2013 to win the title.
 
Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) led the Wildcats with her 15th double-double of the season, tallying 16 kills and 19 digs.  The younger Drzymala was crowned ECC Player of the Year after a standout sophomore season.  Megan Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden) notched double-digit kills with 13, and added three blocks.  Classmate Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania/Targue Mures) enjoyed nine kills, and senior Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) registered 17 digs and 7 kills.
 
ECC Co-Rookie of the Year, Bailey Dolegowski (Marilla, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) posted another double-double performance with 43 assists 17 digs.  Libero Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden) recorded nine digs and seven assists in the loss.
 
NYIT was led by Tiffany Verni's (Patchogue, N.Y.) 14 kills, Rachel Guida's (Huntington, N.Y.) 10 blocks, Allison Fowler's (Centennial, Colo.) 35 assists, and Chessie Santeramo's (Freemont, Calif) 30 digs.  Karolina Moderova (Zalesie, Slovakia) added 13 kills and seven digs in the win.
 
Daemen scored the first five points of the opening match to take an early 5-0 lead, featuring two kills from Ashley Drzymala and, a Dolegowski service ace.  NYIT capitalized on Wildcat errors followed by a kill from Fowler to pull within one 9-8.  The Bears used a kill from Guida to even the score at 13.  Apostol hammered down consecutive points, resulting in a 18-15 edge in favor of the Wildcats.  The two teams battled back and forth, and found themselves knotted 20-20.   NYIT outscored Daemen 5-3 in final eight points, resulting in 25-23 Bears' victory.
 
In the second set, Daemen jumped out to 5-2 lead, ignited by kills from three different players.  The Bears fought back, winning three straight points on the serve of Portia Mcintosh (Aurora, Colo.) to level the score 8-8.   After falling behind 11-9, the Wildcats regained the 13-12 lead, which featured two kills from Rachel Stephenson (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier).  NYIT used a quick 6-2 run to take a three-point lead, but once again Daemen closed in 19-18.  The Wildcats, who committed eight attack errors in the set, were unable to catch the Bears dropping the second 25-21.
 
NYIT used the momentum from the second set to take an early 7-3 lead after two consecutive Daemen mistakes. Daemen narrowed the gap 9-8 on the strength of kills from Ashley Drzymala and Apostol.  After a 13-13 draw, NYIT racked up the next three points to for the 15-12 go ahead, forcing Daemen to call a timeout.  The Wildcats answered with an 8-4 run, featuring two kills from Apostol to gain their first lead of the set, 21-19.  The end of the set was as close as the two teams, but the Drzymala duo each nailed down kills to stay alive 26-24.
 
After trailing 7-1 in the beginning of the fourth, Daemen used a 9-2 burst to even the score 9-9.  The run featured two kills from Courtney Bernard (Lancaster, Ohio/Fairfield), and one apiece from Megan Ballou and Apostol.  After two more set ties, the Bears took a three-point lead 19-16, which included three kills from Verni.  After being down 23-17 Daemen charged back with a three-point surge, but it wasn't enough to force a deciding set, and NYIT closed the set and match 25-20. 
 
Despite the loss, Daemen stands a good chance of receiving one of the five at-large bids available to East Region teams thanks to their No. 1 ranking the region.  Fans are encouraged to join the team, and attend a watch party for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday.  The live streaming will take place in The Den, and will also feature games and prizes.  The watch party is open to the entire campus community and friends of Daemen Athletics.
 
For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's volleyball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter
 
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