| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College women's volleyball team hosts four-time defending ECC champion University of Bridgeport this Saturday, November 5...Daemen's 11-match win streak has powered the Wildcats to a first-place standing in the conference, while Bridgeport ranks one spot behind in second...a Wildcats' win would clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ECC Tournament (Nov. 18-19) making Daemen the tournament host...the Wildcats are also hosting a free clinic for area youths immediately following the match. |
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| GAME INFORMATION |
| Daemen vs. Bridgeport |
| Date: Saturday, November 5 |
Time: 12:00 p.m. |
Location: Lumsden Gymnasium - Amherst, N.Y. |
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| GAME LINKS |
| Daemen Roster |
Daemen Schedule |
Daemen Stats |
| Bridgeport Roster |
Bridgeport Schedule |
Bridgeport Stats |
| Live Stats |
Live Video |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter: |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenVB |
| Daemen Hashtags: |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| Bridgeport Twitter: |
@PKnights |
| Bridgeport Hashtags: |
#WeAreUB, #UBUKNOW |
| Game Hashtags: |
#DAEvsUB |
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| ON THE SIDELINES |
Daemen: 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 (19-6, 10-1 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 8-6 in the month of September, the Wildcats finished October with an impressive 11-1 mark for an overall 19-6 record…Daemen's last loss was to defending East Region champions NYIT on October 1…since dropping that match, they have won 11 consecutive contests placing them at the top of the ECC leaderboard…the current win streak is tied for the fifth-longest in the country among NCAA DII teams.. it is also Daemen's first double-figure win streak since producing 15 straight during the 2013 season…Daemen secured its first postseason berth at the NCAA Division II level after defeating host LIU Post in an epic five-set battle Oct. 29…they followed up the win with a pair of straight-set wins over host NYIT and non-conference opponent Southern Connecticut State on Oct. 30…the Wildcats were recently ranked No. 2 in the first NCAA Division II East Region poll behind the NYIT Bears…Ashley Drzymala paced the Wildcats in the weekend wins, averaging 13 kills and 12 digs per match while posting three double-doubles…for her efforts she was named the ECC Player of the Week marking the sixth time this season a Daemen player has been awarded a conference weekly honor…her sister Amber Drzymala also had three double-double performances for the weekend, inching closer to the 1,000 kill mark for her career...the elder Drzymala, who registered the 1,000th dig of her career in an Oct. 4 win over Roberts Wesleyan, enters this weekend's match with 961 kills as she bids to become just the third player in team history to surpass 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills…Meghan Ballou registered a career-high 14 kills, and added four blocks in the win over LIU Post…Bailey Dolegowski dished out a career-high 58 assists and 12 digs against the Pioneers, she added another double-double in the win over NYIT…defensively, Kailey Ballou registered a team-high 17 digs vs. LIU Post and 14 digs against NYIT…the Drzymala sisters continue to shine both offensively and defensively this season… Ashley leads the team in kills (330) and kills per set (3.40), ranking second and fourth respectively, among all ECC players ...Amber ranks fifth in the conference in kills (292) and eighth in total digs (279) making her one of just three players to rank in the top 10 of both categories…Dolegowski has paced the Daemen setters with 844 assists thus far...she ranks third in the ECC in assists per set (9.92) and has also registered 10 double-doubles this season…Megan Ballou has come on of late with 92 of her 132 kills coming during the team's 11-match winning streak…she leads the team in blocks (40) and has been an ECC Rookie of the Week selection…Kailey Ballou has stepped up defensively, totaling 238 digs this season and posting 11-straight matches with at least 10 digs…additional production has come from Courtney Scanlan (191 kills, .223 hitting percentage), Cristina Apostol (102 kills, 32 blocks) Sydney Macinnis (188 assists). |
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| BRIDGEPORT REPORT (12-10, 8-2 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…seven players return from the 2015 squad, with the addition of seven newcomers...top returners include first-team All-ECC 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 who 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 team's primary setter, she dished out 1,308 assists to finish second in the conference in assists per set with 10.23...after going 4-7 in the month of September, Bridgeport finished October with a 7-3 mark…so far this season, the Purple Knights are 12-10 overall and 8-2 in the league…they currently rank second behind Daemen in the overall conference standings…UB dropped the first match against Daemen earlier this year 3-1…Frida Randen registered eight kills, and Ellie Rich turned in 35 assists in the losing effort…the Purple Knights entered November with a 3-1 victory over Southern Connecticut State on the 1st of the month…Sara Cruz led Bridgeport with a double-double performance, posting 14 kills and a match-high 20 digs…Ellie Rich had 42 helpers and libero Amelie Guinci amassed 19 digs…Guinci currently leads the league in digs per set (5.533) and sits second among all ECC players in total digs (437)…Rich continues to shine at the setting position, ranking second in the conference in assists per set with 9.87…she has tallied 770 total assists thus far and has added 156 total digs…the Bridgeport offense is led by Sara Cruz, Bruna Santos, and Frida Randen…they have nailed down 220, 169, and 155 kills respectively…additional production has come from Sheri Middleton...she has posted 151 kills for a .326 hitting percentage and leads the team in blocks with 33. |
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| THE HISTORY |
| ALL-TIME: Bridgeport leads the series 6-1 |
| Previous Meetings: |
| Oct. 9, 2016 - Daemen 3, Bridgeport 1 |
(@ Bridgeport) |
GAME RECAP |
| 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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| ECC TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK |
| Daemen's 10-1 mark in conference play has the Wildcats at the top of the East Coast Conference...Daemen clinched its first-ever ECC Tournament berth in the thrilling five-set victory at LIU Post on October 29...a Wildcat win on Saturday would secure the No. 1 seed in the ECC Tournament making Daemen the tourney host...the conference tournament is scheduled for November 18-19 and will feature the top four teams in the final league standings...the Bridgeport Purple Knights rank second behind the Wildcats, followed by NYIT...if the season ends in a tie between the previously mentioned teams, Daemen would be granted the tie-breaker over both Bridgeport and NYIT...at 6-6 in the league, LIU Post is currently in line for the fourth and final tourney berth...after starting the season with just three wins in their first 13 matches overall, the Pioneers have come on of late, going 10-2 since Oct. 6, including a 6-2 mark in league play...the Pioneers host Queens (Nov. 5) and Molloy (Nov. 10) to closeout the regular season...Roberts Wesleyan (8-13, 5-6 ECC) is the only other team that's still alive in the hunt for a conference tourney bid...the Redhawks have the more difficult schedule, hosting Bridgeport (Nov. 4), Daemen (Nov. 10) and Mercy (Nov. 12) to closeout their regular season. |
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| WILDCATS WRANGLE NO. 2 REGIONAL RANKING |
| The Wildcats are ranked No. 2 in the first NCAA Division II East Region poll of the 2016 season which was released earlier this week...defending East Region champions NYIT takes the No. 1 ranking with a 21-5 overall record and 7-3 East Coast Conference mark...Daemen split their two meetings with the Bears this season, defeating them in the most recent meeting last weekend...the Wildcats are 3-2 against all regionally-ranked squads in the 10-team poll...the regional rankings are used to decide at-large bids to the East Regional segment of the NCAA Tournament...Additional Regional Ranking information. |
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| DRZYMALA'S HUNT FOR HISTORY |
| Senior Amber Drzymala has already surpassed 1,000 career digs in a 3-1 victory over rival Roberts Wesleyan College earlier this season...she now continues her quest in reaching another noteworthy milestone, 1,000 career kills...the 5-foot-9 outside hitter has totaled 961 kills in her career to date, if she averages 13 kills a match she will hit 1,000 before the start of conference playoffs...if conquered, Amber will become just the third player in team history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. |
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| WILDCATS WELCOME YOUTH FOR FREE CLINIC |
| The Daemen volleyball coaching staff and student-athletes will conduct a free clinic for area youths directly after the match on Saturday. Admission to the game is free for all those attending the clinic. The one-hour clinic is open to girls and boys in grades three through eight, and will focus on perfecting and enhancing volleyball skills. Children of all experience levels are welcomed. For additional clinic and registration information check here. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| Daemen makes the voyage to Rochester, N.Y. for an East Coast Conference showdown against longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 10. The Wildcats ousted the Redhawks 3-1 earlier this season at Lumsden Gymnasium. |
