Sophomore Courtney Bernard came through last night with her first match of double-figure kills since mid-September, helping Daemen advance to tonight's NCAA Tournament second round match vs. New Haven

Women's Volleyball 12/2/2016 11:49:00 AM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Volleyball Continues NCAA Tourney Run Vs. New Haven

Wildcats Face Chargers In Second Round Tonight At 7:30

THE LEAD
For the first time ever an NCAA postseason event comes to Lumsden Gymnasium as Daemen College is set to host the East Region Championship portion of the 2016 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship...the competition here - one of eight regional championships across the country this week - features the top eight teams in the NCAA Division II East Region which is comprised of the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference...Daemen enters as the No. 2 seed in the region, and will face No. 3 New Haven in the second round on Friday evening after dispatching of No. 7 Post in a five-set thriller last night...the winner of this eight-team event advances to the Elite 8 which is slated for Dec. 8-10 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Tournament Schedule Announcement

First Round - Thursday, Dec. 1
12:00 p.m.	No. 4 American International vs. No. 5 Le Moyne	3-0	(25-23, 25-12, 26-24)
2:30 p.m.	No. 1 N.Y. Institute of Technology vs. No. 8 Adelphi	3-1	(25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 25-21)
5:00 p.m.	No. 3 New Haven vs. No. 6 Philadelphia	3-2	(25-20, 20-25, 27-25, 22-25, 16-14)
7:30 p.m.	No. 2 Daemen vs. No. 7 Post	3-2	(17-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12)

Second Round - Friday, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m.	Semifinal #1 - No. 1 NYIT vs. No. 4 American International	LIVE VIDEO	LIVE STATS
7:30 p.m.	Semifinal #2 - No. 2 Daemen vs. No. 3 New Haven	LIVE VIDEO	LIVE STATS

Regional Finals - Saturday, Dec. 3
5:00 p.m.	Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2	LIVE VIDEO	LIVE STATS

NCAA TOURNAMENT LINKS
Interactive Bracket \| Printable Bracket \| Selection Show \| NCAA Release \| Digital Program

TEAM SCOUTING REPORTS

NYIT BEARS Twitter: @NYITBears, @NYITVB
RECORD:	29-5, 11-3 ECC
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SEED:	No. 1
ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT BIDS:	11
LAST NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE:	2015, National Quarterfinals
COACH:	Gail Wasmus Career Record: 600-400, 31st season (.600 winning percentage) At NYIT: Same
LINKS:	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Tournament Bid Press Release \| First Round Match Recap
BID TYPE:	Automatic - ECC Tournament Champions
HOW THEY GOT HERE:	The defending East Region champions finished second in the ECC this season before knocking off Bridgeport and Daemen to earn the program's first ECC Tournament title since 1990 Rattled off 10 straight wins to start the season before dropping two straight to Stonehill and Pace in mid-September Had an eight-match win streak snapped with a five-set loss at Bridgeport on Oct. 13 Went just 3-3 from Oct. 13 through Nov. 1 Enter NCAA Tournament play as winners in seven straight matches Hold a 6-1 record against East Regional qualifiers, including a 3-1 win over their first-round opponent Adelphi back on Oct. 27 Defeated #8 Adelphi in the first round in four sets; Allison Fowler posted 36 assists and 15 digs, while Rachel Guida notched 15 kills to lead the way
KEY PLAYERS:	OH - Tiffany Verni (So., 5-8, Patchogue, N.Y.)	465 kills, 3.66 kills/set, .216 hitting percentage, 160 digs 1st Team All-ECC
	OH - Karolina Moderova (Jr., 5-10, Zalesie, Slovakia)	389 kills, 3.44 kills/set, .186 hitting percentage, 356 digs, 53 service aces 1st Team All-ECC
	S/RS - Allison Fowler (Jr., 5-9, Centennial, Colo.)	1064 assists, 9.76 assists/set, 310 digs, 98 kills 1st Team All-ECC, ECC Setter of the Year, ECC Tournament Most Outstanding Player
	MB - Rachel Guida (Sr., 6-2, Huntington, N.Y.)	311 kills, 2.51 kills/set .328 hitting percentage, 152 blocks 1st Team All-ECC

DAEMEN WILDCATS Twitter: @DaemenAthletics, @DaemenVB
RECORD:	24-7, 13-1 ECC
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SEED:	No. 2
ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT BIDS:	1
LAST NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE:	N/A
COACH:	Stephanie Albano Career Record: 24-7. first season (.774 winning percentage) At Daemen: Same
LINKS:	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Tournament Bid Press Release \| First Round Match Recap
BID TYPE:	At-Large
HOW THEY GOT HERE:	ECC regular season champs for the first time in team history Started slowly with eight wins in their first 14 contests Picked things up and rattled off 15 consecutive wins from Oct. 2 through Nov. 18 Making their first-ever ECC Tournament appearance, knocked off fourth-seeded LIU Post in the semifinals before falling on home court to second-seeded NYIT in four sets, snapping 15-match win streak 6-2 in five-set matches Hold a 2-3 record against East Regional qualifiers; only team in the field with a win over top-seeded NYIT Also hold wins over Atlantic Regional qualifiers Shaw and California (Pa.) Needed five sets to get past No. 7 Post in the first round; middle blockers Cristina Apostol (16 kills) and Courtney Bernard (14 kills) each posted career-highs in kills as Bailey Dolegowski doubled up with 56 assists and 18 digs
KEY PLAYERS:	OH - Ashley Drzymala (So., 5-10, West Seneca, N.Y.)	414 kills, 3.51 kills/set, .217 hitting percentage, 49 service aces, 316 digs 1st Team All-ECC, ECC Player of the Year
	OH - Amber Drzymala (Sr., 5-9, West Seneca, N.Y.)	357 kills, 3.00 kills/set, .193 hitting percentage, 35 service aces, 348 digs 1st Team All-ECC
	S - Bailey Dolegowski (Fr., 5-8, Marilla, N.Y.)	1123 assists, 9.77 assists/set, 42 service aces, 290 digs 2nd Team All-ECC, ECC Co-Rookie of the Year

NEW HAVEN CHARGERS Twitter: @UNHChargers, @ChargersVball
RECORD:	20-8, 11-3 NE-10
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SEED:	No. 3
ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT BIDS:	31
LAST NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE:	2015, First Round
COACH:	Robin Salters Career Record: 624-188, 23rd season (.768 winning percentage) At New Haven: Same
LINKS:	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Tournament Bid Press Release \| First Round Match Recap
BID TYPE:	Automatic - NE-10 Tournament Champions
HOW THEY GOT HERE:	Finished tied for second in NE-10 regular season standings Knocked off sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce, second-seeded American International and fifth-seeded Adelphi in NE-10 Conference Tournament to capture the league championship for the fifth time in its history Making its eleventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance Hold a 3-3 record against East Regional qualifiers Enter NCAA Tournament play as winners of five straight matches Kept their winning streak alive by defeating No. 6 Philadelphia in five sets to advance; four players reached double-figure kills led by Meghan Kennelley with 18, while Kristine Rios flirted with a triple-double (9 kills, 33 assists, 19 digs)
KEY PLAYERS:	MB - Alex Bussey (Jr., 5-11, Atlanta, Ga.)	209 kills, 2.22 kills/set, .261 hitting percentage, 104 blocks 3rd Team All-NE-10
	RS/S - Kristine Rios (So., 5-8, Miami, Fla.)	252 kills, 2.45 kills/set, .253 hitting percentage, 555 assists, 363 digs 3rd Team All-NE-10, NE-10 Championship All-Tournament Team (MVP)
	RS - Mallory Nowicki (Fr., 6-0, Grand Rapids, Mich.)	210 kills, 2.23 kills/set, .239 hitting percentage NE-10 All-Rookie Team
	OH - Meghan Kennelly (Sr., 5-9, Detroit, Mich.)	274 kills, 2.95 kills/set, .182 hitting percentage, 360 digs NE-10 Championship All-Tournament Team

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL YELLOW JACKETS Twitter: @aicathletics, @AICvb
RECORD:	26-6, 11-3 NE-10
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SEED:	No. 4
ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT BIDS:	2
LAST NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE:	2010, First Round
COACH:	Matt Cribbin Career Record: 96-105, eighth season (.478 winning percentage) At American International: 76-73, fifth season (.510 winning percentage)
LINKS:	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| First Round Match Recap
BID TYPE:	At-Large
HOW THEY GOT HERE:	Finished tied for second in NE-10 regular season standings Started the season with 13 wins in their first 15 outings, falling only to defending East Region champ NYIT and nationally-ranked Nebraska-Kearney Won final eight matches of regular season and entered NE-10 Tournament as No. 2 seed Knocked off seventh-seeded Bentley in NE-10 Tournament quarterfinals before falling on home court to third-seeded and eventual champ New Haven in five sets Hold a 2-4 record against East Regional qualifiers Lost their only matchup of the season with their first round opponent Le Moyne, falling on the road in five sets back on Sept. 27 Had the smoothest first round match of anyone in the region, disposing of fourth-seeded Le Moyne in straight sets; Annie Boele (13 kills, 11 digs) and Dolores Kopren (28 assists, 10 digs) each posted double-doubles to lead the way
KEY PLAYERS:	OH - Diva Rivas-Reyes (So., 5-10, Tucson, Ariz.)	434 kills, 4.02 kills/set, .232 hitting percentage 1st Team All-NE-10, NE-10 Player of the Year
	DS - Mercy Rivera (Jr., 5-8, Canovanas, P.R.)	713 digs, 5.84 digs/set, 29 service aces 1st Team All-NE-10, NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, NE-10 Championship All-Tournament Team
	S - Dolores Kopren (So., 5-7, Novi Sad, Serbia)	1375 assists, 11.46 assists/set, 63 service aces, 297 digs 1st Team All-NE-10
	OH - Jana Potic (Fr., 5-10, Belgrade, Serbia)	335 kills, 2.84 kills/set, .219 hitting percentage, 52 blocks 2nd Team All-NE-10, NE-10 All-Rookie Team, NE-10 Rookie of the Year

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Players Mentioned

#9 Courtney Bernard: MB/RS; 6' 0"; Sophomore

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#9 Courtney Bernard
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: MB/RS

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

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

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

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