| THE LEAD |
| Tonight, the Daemen College Women's volleyball team journeys north for an exhibition game against Brock University before traveling to face off against California University (Pa.) tomorrow evening...it'll be the first time Daemen has competed against both the Badgers and Vulcans. |
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| GAME INFORMATION |
| Daemen at Brock University (EXHIBITION) Â Â |
| Date:Â Friday, September 15 Â |
Time:Â 6:00 p.m. Â |
Location: Bob Davis Gymnasium, St. Catharines, Ontario  |
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| Daemen at California University |
| Date: Saturday, September 16 Â |
Time: 6:00 p.m. Â Â |
Location: Hamer Hall, California, Pa. Â Â |
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| GAME LINKS |
| Daemen Roster |
Daemen Schedule |
Daemen Stats |
| Brock Roster |
Brock Schedule |
Brock Stats (2015) |
| Cal Roster |
Cal Schedule |
Cal Stats |
| Live Stats (Match @ Cal) |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenVB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| Brock Twitter:Â |
@BrockBadgers |
| Brock Hashtags: |
#WEAREREADY |
| California Twitter: |
@calvulcans |
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| 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. |
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| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (5-3, 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 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...The Wildcats opened the 2016 season by winning three of their four matches last weekend at Ram Fest, a multi-team tournament hosted by West Chester University...that was followed by a split of their four matches at last weekend's Daemen College/Hyatt Place Volleyball Classic held at Lumsden Gymnasium...the Wildcats dropped their opening matches of their own tournament, falling to Slippery Rock and Lake Erie last Friday, before rebounding with defeats of Assumption and St. Rose on Saturday...sophomore middle blocker/right-side hitter Courtney Bernard was named to the all-tournament team after posting 41 kills and a .436 hitting percentage over the four matches...she put down a career-high 15 kills in the loss to Slippery Rock...Ashley Drzymala recorded double-doubles in three of the four matches last weekend, including a season-high 20 kills and 11 digs in the win over St. Rose...she leads the team with 94 kills thus far, followed by her sister who's posted 90...Bernard's .376 hitting percentage leads the Daemen regulars...setting duties have been shared thus far between freshmen Bailey Dolegowski and Sydney MacInnis...Dolegowski, who earned ECC Rookie of the Week honors for August 29-September 5, leads the team with 221 assists, while MacInnis has posted 97...defensively, Amber Drzymala shares the team-high in digs (91) with freshman Jess Kranz...Daemen won the first two sets against Le Moyne earlier this week, but it wasn't enough to stop the Dolphins come-from-behind, five-set victory...Ashley Dryzmala had 18 kills and 12 digs, good for her fifth double-double on the season...Courtney Scanlan, Cristinia Apostol, Ashley Drzymala, and Courtney Bernard continued to pace the Wildcat offense, registering 13, 11, 11, and 10 kills respectively...Jess Kranz dug 20 balls in the loss, she holds the top spot for the Daemen defense with a 3.00 digs per set and 111 total digs...Bailey Dolegowski continued to make a substantial impact, listing her fifth double-double and fourth 50 or more assists of the year...She tallied 52 assist and 15 digs in the lossing effort. |
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| BROCK SCOUTING REPORT (0-0, 0-0 QUA) |
| Brock returns 10 players back from the 2015 season and adds eight newcomers…the Badgers' look to build on the previous season after posting a 2-17 overall record, finishing 1-16 in conference play…Brock is a member of the Ontario University Athletics(OUA) conference, the first Canadian multi-sport organization of intercollegiate athletics…Dale Ann Melic enters her sixth season as the head coach…Returning offensive threats are Brianna Hamilton, Maddie Brown, and Abby Jenkins who posted 85, 84, and 80 kills respectively last year…Karlinna O'Learly is back as the primary libero, recording 250 digs in 69 sets for a team-high 3.62 digs per set percentage…she also contributed 47 assists…Hannah Davenhill returns as the probable setter after tallying 153 sets in just 30 sets…her 5.10 assists per set ranked first on the team, lone graduate Alexis Gregorio placed second in 2015…the freshman class is expected to make a quick, immense impact all-around…September 30 marks the official start of the 2016-2017 campaign for the Badgers |
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| CAL SCOUTING REPORT (7-2, 0-0 PSAC) |
| Cal is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference(PSAC) and was selected to finish second in the preseason Southwest Division Poll…the Vulcans finished the 2015 season with a 16-17 (14-8 PSAC) record after being eliminated in the conference tournament quarterfinals…12 players return to the 2016 team while adding two freshmen...Peter Letourneau jumps into his third season as the head coach…senior Danielle Hayes and junior Ashley Leto return upfront, they posted 273 and 248 kills last season…the duo ranked second and third on the team in service aces with 30 and 28 respectively…Leto, a dynamic outside hitter also led the Vulcan defense listing a squad-high 3.72 digs per set, digging 413 balls in 111 sets of action…veteran Megan Litoborski returns as the chief setter, she recorded 23 double-doubles(assist/dig) and finished first on the team with 837 assists…the Vulcans are 7-2 on the 2016 season, finishing 3-1 in the Lock Haven Tournament and 4-1 in their own Vulcan Invitational…Cal is leading their opponents in nearly every statistical category including points by set with 763, opponents point total is 683…Hayes led the team and set a career high with 19 kills on 43 attempts in the Cal 3-0 win over Charleston (W.Va.)…she remains the team leader in kills (133) and service aces (19)…Sophomore Seairra Barret ranks second behind Hayes with 74 kills and leads the team with a .5 blocks per set…Litoborski continues to be the floor general, dishing out 330 helpers in 33 sets played, she controls the top-spot with 10 assists per set…defensively Litoborski continues to excel, registering a team-high 79 digs in the first nine games of the season...Cal is coming off of a five-set victory over Adelphi, the Vulcans rallied from behind to steal the win…Lois van Schaik led the offense by finishing with a career-high 14 kills on a .345 hitting percentage. |
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| THE HISTORY |
| Both matches will be the first time in program history Daemen matches up against Brock University and California University (Pa.). Â Brock does not open their regular season schedule until September 30, this exhibition game against Daemen will be the first-ever meeting between the Badgers and Wildcats. Â Cal features Slippery Rock and West Chester on their upcoming schedule, Daemen dropped matches to both of them this year. Â Daemen and Cal are both scheduled to face off against Gannon throughout the season, Gannon is a member of the PSAC along with Cal. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| The Wildcats host the Golden Knights of Gannon in non-conference action on Tuesday (September 20) at Lumsden Gymnasium, match start time is 7:00 p.m. Â Daemen opens up East Coast Conference play on the road (September 24, 24), facing up against Molloy and Queens College |
