| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College women's volleyball team opens the 2016 season this weekend, taking part in the Ram Fest Tournament hosted by West Chester University in West Chester, Pa… Daemen will play four matches over two days.  |
| Â Â Â |
| GAME INFORMATION |
| Daemen vs. West Chester (Live Stats only available for this match - see link below) |
| Date:Â Friday, September 2 |
Time:Â 2:00 p.m. |
Location: Hollinger Field House, West Chester, Pa. |
| Â Â |
| Daemen vs. Shaw |
| Date: Friday, September 2 |
Time:Â 4:00 p.m. |
Location:Hollinger Field House, West Chester, Pa. |
| Â Â |
| Daemen vs. Philadelphia |
| Date:Â Saturday, September 3 |
Time:Â 12:00 p.m. |
Location:Hollinger Field House, West Chester, Pa. |
| Â Â |
| Daemen vs. Millersville |
| Date:Â Saturday, September 3 |
Time:Â 2:00 p.m. |
Location:Hollinger Field House, West Chester, Pa. |
| Â Â |
| GAME LINKS |
| Daemen Roster |
Daemen Schedule |
Daemen Stats (2015) |
| West Chester Roster |
West Chester Schedule |
West Chester Stats (2015) |
| Shaw Roster |
Shaw Schedule |
Shaw Stats (2015) |
| Millersville Roster |
Millersville Schedule |
Millersville Stats (2015) |
| Live Stats (Daemen vs. West Chester) |
| Â Â Â |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenWVB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| West Chester Twitter:Â |
@WCUAthletics |
| Shaw Twitter:Â |
@ShawBears |
| Philadelphia Twitter: |
@PhilaURams |
| Millersville Twitter: |
@VilleMarauders |
| Â Â |
| ON THE SIDELINES |
| Daemen: Â 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. |
| Â Â Â |
| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (0-0, 0-0 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 as the floor general 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. |
| Â Â Â |
| WEST CHESTER SCOUTING REPORT (0-0, 0-0 PSAC) |
| West Chester is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and was picked first to win the newly created Southeast Division of the PSAC...in 2015 the Rams finished third in the PSAC East and made their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and victory, compiling an impressive 26-11 record...head Coach Kassie Bellaver enters her 11th season and returns 13 players from last year's team with the addition of 5 newcomers...Jillian Grammer a sophomore setter returns to the scene after earning second team All-PSAC East honors in 2015...also back is sophomore defensive specialist Nicki Yates who registered 5.48 digs per set that earned her a top spot in the individual season record book for the Rams...junior Victoria Cruciani and sophomore Allie Duffy return as key versatile middle blockers who can produce big numbers offensively and defensively. |
| Â Â Â |
| SHAW SCOUTING REPORT (0-0, 0-0 CIAA) |
| Shaw is a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and was predicted to finish third in the conference...head Coach Dishondra Goree enters her third season returning eight players with the addition of nine new players, seven of them freshmen...the Bears ended the 2015 season as runner-ups with a 12-4 record and a 19-10 overall mark, for a first-time winning record since 2002-2003...the Bears had four players named ALL-CIAA including Kelly Murphy, Michelle Olmeda-Gonzalez, Keveesha Wattley and Morghan Robinson who will all be back for the 2016 season...Murphy was named the 2015 CIAA Volleyball Player of the year after leading the conference in kills (403), kills per set (3.77), total attacks (1026), service aces (53) and points (468). |
| Â Â Â |
| PHILADELPHIA SCOUTING REPORT (0-0, 0-0 CACC) |
| Philadelphia is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and was selected to finish second in the Southern Division...The Rams, under first year head coach Tom Moyer posted a 21-7 record while winning the CACC southern division in 2015...eight players from the 2015 squad return with the addition of eight new faces...Corrine Justus, Courtney Wensel and Lauren Laucella top the list of returning players...Justus an All-CACC first team middle hitter posted the sixth-highest hitting percentage in the conference (.295) and ranked third on the team in kills (201)...Wensel an outside hitter, was a three-time CACC rookie of the week and ranked first in service aces per set (.53) in the CACC...Laucella a veteran senior, played every match in 2015 while adding 137 kills and 66 blocks on the 2015 season. |
| Â Â Â |
| MILLERSVILLE SCOUTING REPORT (0-0, 0-0 PSAC) |
| Millersville is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and was picked to finish fourth in the Central Division...head coach Brian Smith enters his seventh season with the Marauders after compiling a 18-15 record in 2015...seven players return from the 2015 squad, and eight newcomers complete the young team which features no seniors...juniors Erin Harman and Kelsi Ceriana as well as sophomores Grace Dawson and Brittany Ford are returning starters who will provide a strong foundation for this young Millersville team...Harman and Ceriani are key offensive threats, ranking first and second on the team in kills respectively...Dawson is back at the setting position looking to build upon an impressive freshman campaign highlighting the season with 1.037 assists and six performances of 40 or more digs...freshmen Katie Luaghman, Haley Butler and Kara Wirt are expected to burst onto the scene and provide strong performances for the Marauders. |
| Â Â Â |
| THE HISTORY |
| In 2012, the Daemen Wildcats beat West Chester in three sets in this same tournament hosted by the Golden Rams...current assistant coach, Kaley Vazquez registered a season-high 24 assists to help Daemen sweep the Rams (25-20, 25-23, 25-16)...Daemen also faced off against the Philadelphia Rams, topping them in three sets (25-17, 25-15, 25-22)...the Wildcats went on to win all four matches, never dropping a set for a perfect weekend. |
| Â Â Â Â Â |
| THESE DAYS IN DAEMEN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL HISTORY |
Sept. 2:Â In 2011, Daemen beat Peru State in just 58 minutes of action before a thrilling five-set victory over Oklahoma City University as part of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Labor Day Tournament to improve to 10-3 on the season.
Sept. 3:Â In 2005 Daemen dropped a nail-biting,five-set match to Messiah College in a five team tournament hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College located in Rochester, NY. |
| Â Â Â Â |
| ON THE HORIZON |
| The Wildcats will host the 2016 Daemen College/Hyatt Place Volleyball Classic featuring six NCAA Division II women's volleyball programs, running September 9-11 on campus in Lumsden Gymnasium....get more information on the tournament at the link provided:Â Tournament information |
