Women's Volleyball 11/5/2016 2:15:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcats Earn Hosting Privileges In Sweeping Fashion

Daemen Ousts Bridgeport To Clinch The No. 1 Seed In The upcoming ECC Tournament

Box Score AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's volleyball won its 12^th-straight match this afternoon, taking down four-time defending ECC Champion University of Bridgeport this afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium. With the 3-0 win today, Daemen clinched at least a share of the East Coast Conference regular season championship (25-15, 25-20, 25-18).

Today's victory improves Daemen's record to 20-6 overall and 11-1 in ECC action. Daemen earned hosting privileges for the upcoming East Coast Conference Championship Tournament after securing the No. 1 seed with today's win. The Tournament will be held at Lumsden Gymnasium on November 18^th and 19^th, and will feature the top four teams in the final league standings.

Bridgeport dropped to 12-11 overall and 9-3 in the league, falling to third place behind NYIT, both squads have a 9-3 conference record.

The Wildcats were in full force this afternoon, as the team ousted the Purple Knights in every statistical category. Daemen nearly doubled Bridgeport in kills, aces, blocks, and assists. Defensively, they held UB to a mere .081 hitting percentage.

ECC Player of the Week, Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y. / St. Mary's of Lancaster) led the way with a team-high 14 kills and three service aces. She added three blocks and nine digs in the sweep. Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania / Targu Mures) and Courtney Scanlan (Ellicottville, N.Y. / Stony Brook University) had stand-out performances. Apostol registered 10 kills for an impressive .563 hitting percentage, and added a team-high four blocks. Scanlan, a redshirt-sophomore, recorded nine kills, seven digs, and two blocks. Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y. / St. Mary's of Lancaster) continued to be a versatile force, notching nine kills and eight digs.

Freshman setter Bailey Dolegowski (Marilla, N.Y. / St. Mary's of Lancaster) posted her 11^th double-double, dishing out a match-high 35 assists and digging 11 balls. Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y. / Eden) paved the way defensively with a team-high 12 digs, also adding three assists in the Wildcat win.

The opening set went back-and-forth early as the two ECC powers found themselves tied 3-3. Bridgeport used a 7-3 burst to take the lead 10-6, which featured two straight kills from Frida Randen (Sodertalje, Sweden). The Wildcats responded with a three-point run on the serve of Meghan Ballou (Eden,N.Y. / Eden), followed by kills from Scanlan and Apostol to even the score 12-12. Daemen went on a 11-point tear, that featured three errors from the Purple Knights and two Ashley Drzymala service aces to power the surge. A kill from Amber Drzymala sealed the first set for the Wildcats 25-15.

The Wildcats rattled off the first three points of the second set to take a 3-0 advantage. The Purple Knights cultivated a run of their own on the serve of Randen to level the score 7-7. The sides swapped points before Bridgeport climbed to a 13-10 lead. Daemen battled back with a five-point run to lead 16-14, forcing UB to call a timeout. The Wildcats didn't slow out of the break, taking three of the next five points, to hold the edge 19-16. Bridgepoint pulled within one on a Daemen error to put the score at 21-20. Kills from Ashley Drzymala and Scanlan powered Daemen to the 25-20 victory.

The teams continued to battle early in the third set, but the Purple Knights utilized a three-point run to take the 8-5 advantage. A pair of kills from Ashley Dryzmala, followed by a UB error, propelled Daemen to take the lead 10-8. Daemen widened the gap 17-11 on a pair of kills hammered down by Apostol. A pair of Bridgeport kills put the Purple Knights within four-points, 19-15. However, UB was unable to catch the Wildcat rampage, Daemen won the frame, and the match, 25-18.

Senior Sara Cruz (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) had a team-high nine kills, and 12 digs to lead the Purple Knights. Ellie Rich (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) handed out 20 assists and Amelie Guinci (Cannes, France) registered 12 digs in the losing effort.

Daemen was ranked No. 2 in the first NCAA Division II East Region poll of the 2016 season which was released earlier this week. Also, the Wildcats were selected HeroSports.com Division II Volleyball Team of the Month for October. Daemen was one of five schools nominated, and was voted number one through a fan poll on Twitter. The Wildcats Bennett Rank among Division II programs rose from No. 157 to start October up to No. 103 now. BennettRank is an objective, predictive, date-driven algorithm that ranks all teams by division every week from the preseason to the final game of the year.

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 Hawks 3-1 earlier this season at Lumsden Gymnasium.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's volleyball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Kailey Ballou: L; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#13 Amber Drzymala: OH; 5' 9"; Senior

#10 Ashley Drzymala: OH; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#7 Courtney Scanlan: OH; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#14 Bailey Dolegowski: S; 5' 8"; Freshman

#2 Meghan Ballou: OH; 6' 0"; Freshman

#15 Cristina Apostol: MB; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Kailey Ballou
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: L

#13 Amber Drzymala
: 5' 9"; Senior
: OH

#10 Ashley Drzymala
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: OH

#7 Courtney Scanlan
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OH

#14 Bailey Dolegowski
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: S

#2 Meghan Ballou
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: OH

#15 Cristina Apostol
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: MB