Women's Volleyball 12/7/2016 2:48:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Ashley Drzymala Awarded AVCA Honorable Mention All American

AMHERST, N.Y. – Daemen College volleyball player Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Honorable Mention All-American which was released today on avca.org. The AVCA All-America selections were voted on by the AVCA Division II All-American Committee, today's announcement marks the 35^th annual AVCA All-America teams for NCAA Division II women's volleyball.

Dryzmala, a 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter, was a key catalyst in the Wildcat's historic 2016 season. Daemen recently closed out the season with a 25-8 overall record, following a 3-2 loss to American International College in the regional title game, winning 17 of their final 19 games. The Wildcats finished the regular-season as East Coast Conference (ECC) Champions, earning the No. 1 seed and hosting privileges in the conference tournament, a program first. The Wildcats rode a 15-game win streak, the team's first double-figure win streak since ratting 15 off during the 2013 season, before falling to defending NCAA regional champion NYIT in the ECC Tournament Championship match.

Despite the loss, the Wildcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament thanks to their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the NCAA East Region. Daemen drew the No. 2 seed in the region and was awarded the host bid for the East Regional portion of the 2014 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. This marked the first time ever a Daemen team has earned the right to participate in a NCAA Championship since Daemen transitioned to NCAA Division II status prior to the 2015-2016 school year. After defeating Post University and the University of New Haven, the Wildcats advanced to the regional title game but suffered a 3-2 loss to American International College.

This accolade adds to the list of honors Ashley has accumulated throughout her standout sophomore campaign. After standing among the league's leaders in numerous categories, Ashley was named the 2016 ECC Player of the Year and to the All-ECC First Team, becoming the first player in women's volleyball history to win ECC Player of the Year honors. She concluded the regular season with a team-high 363 kills, ranking second in the conference. She also ranked second in service aces (47), third in service aces per set (.45), third in kills per set (3.46), fifth in total attacks (883), 12^th in hitting percentage (.238), and 13th in digs (274). However, like the Wildcats themselves, the awards did not stop there.

Ashley was named to the AVCA All-East Regional Team announced a few weeks ago. The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams affiliated with the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Ashley finished the 2016 season with a career-high 434 kills, which ranks fourth in women's volleyball history for total kills in a single season, bringing her career-total to 794. The Buffalo native also registered a career-high 339 digs this season, for 588 career digs. Drzymala posted a career-high .209 hitting percentage on 1101 attacks with 204 errors and 434 kills. Ashley finished with 17 double-doubles, bringing her two-year total to 30.

With the honor, Ashley becomes the first women's volleyball player at the NCAA Division II level to receive AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

Players Mentioned

#10 Ashley Drzymala

Players Mentioned

#10 Ashley Drzymala