| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College women's volleyball team hosts the Gannon University in non-conference action Tuesday night at Lumsden Gymnasium...the Wildcats are coming off a commanding 3-0 win over Cal University (Pa.) and they'll host a Golden Knights team that is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year...it'll mark the ninth time all-time meeting between Daemen and Gannon, and the first since 2008...the Golden Knights are making their first trek to Daemen since 2003. |
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| GAME INFORMATION |
| Daemen vs. Gannon |
| Date:Â Tuesday, September 20 |
Time:Â 7:00 p.m. |
Location:Â Lumsden Gymnasium - Amherst, N.Y. |
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| GAME LINKS |
| Daemen Roster |
Daemen Schedule |
Daemen Stats |
| Gannon Roster |
Gannon Schedule |
Gannon Stats |
| Live Stats |
Live Video |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenVB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| Gannon Twitter:Â |
@GUKnights, @GannonVB |
| Gannon Hashtags: |
#uKnighted |
| Game Hashtags: |
#DAEvsGU |
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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.
Gannon: Â Matt Darling, the longest tenured coach in Gannon volleyball program history, is in his 10th season as the head coach of the Golden Knights...he pioneered a program turnaround that includes the present run of seven straight 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament appearances...led Gannon to firstever conference championship and NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance...named 2009 and 2012 PSAC Coach of the Year and 2012 Division II Atlantic Region Coach of the Year...previously served as an assistant coach for various NCAA Division I programs (Marquette, Auburn, and Michigan State)...presently an active member of the AVCA and "Coaches 4 Coaches." |
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| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (6-4, 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...the Wildcats posted a season, team-high .330 hitting percentage to beat California University 3-0...Daemen won the second set 33-31, the first 30-point set win since September 9, 2011...Ashley Drzymala had a match-high 16 kills for a team-high .682 hitting percentage...sister Amber Drzymala registered 10 kills and four service aces, she ranks first on the squad in aces with 17...Bailey Dolegowski dished out 32 assists and added six digs in the victory...Jess Kranz continued to dominate defensively, tallying 11 digs, Daemen's total digs doubled Cal's. |
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| GANNON SCOUTING REPORT (10-1, 0-0 PSAC) |
| Gannon returns 13 players from its 2015 team which went 24-11 overall and 15-7 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)…the Golden Knights advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division II tournament before losing to the eventual national champion, Wheeling Jesuit…last season was the seventh-straight year GU had 20 or more wins as they made their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1993…GU was selected to finish second in the Northwest Division in the PSAC preseason poll…among the returners is senior outside hitter Hannah Kren who was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America honorable-mention team the last two consecutive seasons…Kren entered 2015 fourth all-time at Gannon in points (1,469.5) and registered 57 double-doubles over her first three seasons…also back is junior Kelsey Ansec, NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team selection after averaging 10.5 points, 9.3 kills and two blocks in the tournament...the Golden Knights opened up 2016 with a perfect 10-0 campaign and were listed for receiving National Top 25 (AVCA) votes two weeks in a row…saw their first loss of the season to Ohio Valley this past weekend (3-0) to be 10-1 on the season…Ansec leads the squad with 125 kills for a .318 hitting percentage…Kren follows with 101 kills and was recently selected ECAC Women's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week…Sophomore Carolyn Knollman stars at the setting position, dishing out 339 assists in 11 games…GU defensive efforts are led by returner Sara Crandall, posting 162 digs thus far |
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| THE HISTORY |
| ALL-TIME: Â Gannon leads the series, 7-1 |
| Previous Meetings: |
| Aug. 30, 2008 - Gannon 3, Daemen 2 |
(@ Gannon) |
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| Sept. 15, 2004 - Gannon 3, Daemen 0 |
(@ Gannon) |
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| Sept. 9, 2003 - Gannon 3, Daemen 2 |
(@ Daemen) |
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| Sept. 6, 2003 - Gannon 3, Daemen 0 |
(@ Neutral) |
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| Sept. 11, 1999 - Gannon 3, Daemen 0 |
(@ Neutral) |
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| Sept. 1, 1998 - Daemen 3, Gannon 0 |
(@ Daemen) |
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| Sept. 12, 1998 - Gannon 3, Daemen 1 |
(@ Neutral) |
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| Sept. 30, 1998 - Gannon 3, Daemen 0 |
(@ Gannon) |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| Daemen opens ECC action this coming weekend (Sept. 24, 25) when they voyage to Molloy College on Satuday and close out action Sunday afternoon at Queens College. |
