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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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wvb ram fest day 1 9.2.16
Amber Drzymala and Rachel Stephenson helped head coach Stephanie Albano earn the first victory of her career today
0
Daemen DAE 0-1
3
Winner West Chester WCU 1-0
Daemen DAE
0-1
0
Final
3
West Chester WCU
1-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Daemen DAE 18 24 24 (0)
West Chester WCU 25 26 26 (3)
3
Winner Daemen DAE 1-1
0
Shaw SHAW-VB 0-2
Winner
Daemen DAE
1-1
3
Final
0
Shaw SHAW-VB
0-2
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Daemen DAE 25 25 25 (3)
Shaw SHAW-VB 7 17 12 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Wildcats Earn Split On Opening Day Of Ram Fest Tournament

Daemen Falls To Host West Chester In Opener, Rebounds With 3-0 Defeat Of Shaw

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The Daemen College women's volleyball team opened its 2016 season today by splitting a pair of matches at Ram Fest, a multi-team tournament hosted by West Chester University.  The Wildcats suffered a straight-sets defeat to the host WCU Rams (18-25, 24-26, 24-26) before rebounding with a 3-0 win of their own over Shaw University (25-7, 25-17, 25-12).  The Daemen win over Shaw will go down as the first in the head coaching career of Stephanie Albano who made her debut in the lead chair today.

In the opener, WCU got 10 kills from freshman right-side hitter Rachel Robb (Blackwood, N.J.) to lead a balanced attack.  Sophomore outside hitter Abbie Dischert (Wilmington, Del.) and junior outside hitter Karleigh Lutz (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) combined for 17 kills, and 2015 second-team All-PSAC setter Jillian Grammer (Center Valley, Pa.) registered 28 assists.

The Rams were tough at the net, posting 10 blocks to Daemen's two.  Grammer chipped in with five block assists while sophomore middle blocker Allie Duffy (Carlisle, Pa.) notched seven.

Daemen got a match-high 14 kills from redshirt-sophomore Courtney Scanlan (Ellicottville, N.Y./Stony Brook University) in her Wildcat debut after transferring from Division I Stony Brook.  Senior Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) posted 10 kills, and freshman setter Bailey Dolegowski (Marilla, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) recorded a double-double (41 assists, 10 digs) in her collegiate debut.

Daemen led 4-3 early in the opening set, but WCU, aided by three Daemen attack errors, rattled off four straight points to establish a lead they would not relinquish.  A kill by Scanlan knotted the score at 11-11, but the hosts scored nine of the next 13 points to re-open a five-point bulge (20-15).  Daemen drew within three at 20-17, but the Rams closed out the set shortly thereafter.

The second and third sets ended in similar fashion.  Daemen held late leads in both (20-18 in the second; 23-20 in the third), but couldn't close either out.  A Drzymala kill evened the second set at 24-24, but Lutz scored a kill on the next point, and Grammer put home a service ace to give the Rams a 2-0 lead in sets.  The Rams scored four straight points to erase the three-point deficit late in the third set, and again scored the final two points after Daemen evened up at 24-apiece.  Again it was Lutz with the Rams' 25th point on a kill, followed by a kill from Dischert which ended the set and the match.

The win was the Rams' fourth straight in a season opening match, and their 13th straight win in Ram Fest tournament action.  WCU, which was picked first in the preseason poll for the newly created Southeast Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, last lost a Ram Fest match on September 15, 2012.  Their opponent that day was Daemen.

In the day's capper, 11 Daemen players posted kills as the Wildcats raced past the Shaw Bears of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  Sophomore Ashley Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster), the reigning East Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and a second-team All-ECC pick last season, led Daemen with nine kills.  The Wildcats' returning kills leader committed just one error in 19 total attacks, good for a .421 hitting percentage in the match, and added three of Daemen's 11 service aces.

Newcomers Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania/Targu Mures) and Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y./Eden) posted six and five kills, respectively.  Freshman setter Sydney MacInnis (Superior, Colo./Fairview) put up a match-best 17 assists.

The Daemen defense forced the Bears' attackers into 19 hitting errors in the match.  Shaw attacked at a negative clip (-.045) in the match, compared the Daemen's solid .329 hitting percentage.

Freshman Tapanga Moten (New Orleans, La.) paced the Bears with five kills.  Setter Christine Ngeve (Greensboro, N.C.) had 10 assists, and libero Tiffany Brooks (Efland, N.C.) posted a match-high 13 digs.

The Wildcats established leads of 8-1 and 12-2, running away with the opening set.  Apostol and Scanlan put down a pair of kills each, and Ashley Drzymala registered back-to-back service aces in the set's opening 14 points.

Shaw never threatened again in the second frame as Daemen jumped out to a 12-3 lead.  They would get as close as five points, trailing 22-17, but the younger Drzymala responded with back-to-back kills and a Shaw attack error ended the set.

Daemen closed the match in the third, using a 7-1 spurt to turn a 12-9 lead into an insurmountable 19-10 edge.  Then, with a 21-12 lead, Ballou accounted for three of the final four points with a kill and back-to-back service aces.

The matches today marked Daemen's third appearance at Ram Fest tournament, moving to 7-3 all-time at the event.  The Wildcats swept all four matches in their last Ram Fest appearance back in 2012.

Albano's squad concludes their opening weekend with matches tomorrow afternoon versus Philadelphia University (12 p.m.) and Millersville University (2 p.m.).

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's volleyball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter.


 
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