Women's Volleyball 10/12/2017 1:00:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Women's Volleyball Hosts A Pair Of ECC Contests This Weekend

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (7-10, 3-2 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (15-3, 4-1 ECC)
Friday, October 13 | 2:00 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

Daemen Wildcats (7-10, 3-2 ECC) vs. Queens College Knights (4-10, 1-4 ECC)
Saturday, October 14 | 2:00 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumdsen Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats
Live Video
Game Day

ALBANO BACK IN ACTION
Stephanie Albano enters her second season as the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Daemen in 2017. She was promoted to the position after serving as the Associate Head Coach in 2015. In her first season at the helm, Albano led the program to a 25-8 overall record and 13-1 mark in ECC play. She guided the Wildcats to the program's first ECC regular season championship and NCAA Tournament berth. Albano was named the 2016 East Coast Conference Coach of the year and the 2016 NCAA Division II East Region Coach of the Year last season. She was also selected as one of the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) 30 Under 30 award recipients in the spring of 2017.

WILDCATS PICKED 2ND IN ECC PRESEASON POLL
Following a vote of the league's head coaches, Daemen has been picked to finish 2nd in the East Coast Conference this season after capturing the league's regular season championship in 2016.

HOW SWEET IT WAS
After finishing as the ECC tournament runner-ups, the Wildcats earned the program's first ever-NCAA Tournament berth as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional portion of the tournament which was hosted at Daemen's Lumsden gymnasium. Daemen captured their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, defeating Post University in a five-set thriller. The next day the Wildcats advanced to the sweet 16 after defeating third-seeded University of New Haven with a 3-0 victory. But, their historic 2016 camp to an end in the regional finals, falling 3-2 to fourth-seeded American International College.

RETURNING WILDCATS
The Wildcats return eight players from last year's historic 25-8 squad. Redshirt junior Courtney Scanlan returns as a force on the oustide after registering 226 kills in her debut season as a Wildcat. Scanlan registered nine double-digit kill performances last year. Daemen also welcomes back Meghan Ballou and Cristina Apostol, the pair finished first and second on the team in total blocks respectively. Meghan Ballou, a sophomore outside hitter, finished her freshman campaign with 178 kills and 48 blocks. Apostol, a sophomore middle blocker, concluded her rookie season with 185 kills and 43 blocks. Offensive threat Courtney Bernard is back on the season in 2017, the junior middle blocker recorded 153 kills and 41 blocks in just 19 matches. Senior leader Katie McKrell and sophomore Sydney MacInnis return as the top floor generals at the setting position for the Wildcats. Lastly, Daemen's defensive efforts will be led by junior Kailey Ballou and sophomore Jess Kranz, in 2016 the duo registered 318 and 209 dig respectively.

FRESH FACES
Daemen welcomes six true freshmen to the 2017 squad, including players from five different states. Ali Greenwood, a defensive specialist, comes to Daemen from the Greater Chicago area where she was a two-year starter for the west Aurora Blackhawks, helping them to an Upstate 8 Conference championship in 2015. Fellow defensive specialist Georgia Wicker hails from northern Illinois where she earned four varsity letters for the Woodstock Blue Streaks. She ended her scholastic career with a school record 1,857 digs. Outside hitter Abby Francis comes from Royal Oak, Michigan and brings an ability to play both the front and back rows. Jennifer Heritz, a 6-foot middle-blocker comes to Daemen from The Hoosier State, where she starred for the Penn Kingsmen and helped her team win two sectional championships. Allison Post, another 6-footer, traveled from Windsor, California to join the Wildcat squad. The outside hitter was a two-time All-North Bay league first-team selection in her four year career. Rounding out the rookie class is local athlete Tirzah Peters who comes to Daemen after an impressive athletic career just a short drive away at Sweet Home High School. The 6-foot middle blocker earned six varsity letters on the volleyball court for the Panthers.

ALL-TOURNEY APOSTOL
Sophomore Cristina Apostol was selected to the Cal Vulcan Invitational All-Tournament Team for her performance over the weekend of September 8-9. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker posted 45 kills, ten blocks, ten digs and six service aces in the event hosted by California University (Pa.).

MCKRELL SURPASSES 2,000 CAREER ASSISTS
Senior Katie McKrell became only the 5th player in team history to surpass 2,000 career assists in Daemen's straight-set sweep over Mercy College on September 22. The veteran setter needed 17 assists heading into the match and tallied a match-high 24 to join an elite group of athletes, including assistant coach Kaley Regan. With 2,178 assists to date, she ranks 5th in program history for career total assists.

CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Freshman Jenn Heritz was awarded the East Coast Conference Women's Volleyball Rookie of the week for the competitions held September 11-17. The 6-foot middle hitter helped the Wildcats go 2-1, falling 3-0 at Gannon (Sept. 12) followed by a thrilling five-set win over Adelphi (Sept. 16) and a straight-set sweep over Saint Rose (Sept. 16). For the week, she registered 29 ills on a .354 attack percentage and added seven blocks.

FIVE SETS ON THE WILDCATS

The Wildcat's loss Saturday at NYIT snapped their 14-match ECC regular season winning streak, losing back-to-back conference matches for the first time since November 2015
Daemen ranks in the top four in the categories of assists, kills, assists per set, service aces, total blocks and digs among all East Coast Conference teams thus far
Defensively, rookie libero Georgia Wicker ranks fifth in total digs (241) and sixth in digs per set (3.83) in the league.
Sophomore Meghan Ballou leads the Wildcats with 206 total kills and 3.27 kills per set this season, which ranks fifth among the ECC leaders in both categories.
Senior setter Katie McKrell ranks third in the East Coast Conference in assists (241) and fourth in assists per set (8.76)

BLACKOUT MATCH
In Friday's afternoon battle against Molloy, the Wildcats will wear all black uniforms and fans are encouraged to do the same with their outfits. Additionally, free pizza will be given out to the first 75 Daemen students in attendance. For more information click here.

DIG PINK GAME
On Saturday, all proceeds raised during the match will be donated to the Sideout Foundation in support of breast cancer awareness and research. All fan's attending Saturday's match are encouraged to wear pink clothing and accessories. For more information click here.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen is coming off back-to-back league road losses at NYIT and LIU Post this past weekend; On Saturday, Daemen fell to the Bears 1-3 (19-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21) followed by a straight-set defeat to the league-leading Pioneers (19-25, 25-23, 22-25). Against NYIT, the Wildcats were led by sophomore Meghan Ballou and redshirt-junior Courtney Scanlan who both posted double-digit kill performances. Ballou recorded a team-high 17 kills and notched 15 digs in her 7^th double-double of the season, while Scanlan tallied 14 kills. Rookie libero Georgia Wicker registered a season-high 26 digs to pace the Daemen defense. Veteran setter Katie McKrell dished out 32 assists in the loss. Versus the Pioneers, Meghan Ballou, Courtney Scanlan and Cristina Apostol combined for 29 of the Wildcats' 44 kills in the match. Wicker was the only Wildcat to college double-digit digs with 14, while Kailey Ballou rounded out Daemen's defensive effort with seven digs. Despite the losses last weekend, the Wildcats have won six of their last nine matches.

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen's first match of the weekend comes against the Molloy Lions.   The Wildcats swept the regular series with the Lions in 2016. Molloy has been the surprise team in the conference this season, getting off to a 15-3 start overall after being picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll. Head coach Kevin DesLauriers entered his first season at the helm in 2017; 12 players returned from 2016 with the addition of six freshmen to this year's squad. The Lions have already surpassed their ECC win total from last season (3-11) and have more than doubled their overall win total (6-24). Molloy has been idle since a 3-0 home victory over Mercy on October 4. Redshirt sophomore OH/RS Carly Banks has taken the league by storm as she ranks first in kills per set (4.26) and hitting percentage (.328), and second in total kills (281). Sophia Smith, a sophomore setter, has dished out 742 assists and is averaging 10.91 assists per set this season, which ranks second and first among the ECC leaders in those respective categories.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Molloy: 7-2
Streak: Won 2
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Molloy 0 | October 21, 2016 | Amherst, NY.

QUEENS SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen closes the week by hosting its second ECC match in a 24-hour span, squaring off against Queens College. The Wildcats swept the regular season series with Queens last season. The Knights were slotted sixth in the ECC Preseason Poll after a 7-20 overall record last season, while finishing 3-11 in the league. Third-year head coach Jason Octave returned five players from last season, while adding six newcomers to the mix in 2017. Queens, which plays tomorrow evening at Roberts Wesleyan as well, enters the week with a 4-10 overall record and a 1-4 ECC mark. Two of the Knights' four wins have come this month, and the team is coming off a split of a tri-match at Saint Anselm on Oct. 7, losing to host St. Anselm (3-0) and beating Merrimack (3-0). Cassidy Steward, reigning ECC Co-Rookie of the Year and All-ECC Second Team member in 2016, leads the team in kills with 115. Senior outside hitter Reggie Anthony ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in digs per set with 3.91; she has registered a team-high 180 digs thus far.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Queens: 5-3
Streak: Won 4
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Queens 0 | October 22, 2016 | Amherst, NY.

UP NEXT
Daemen begins the second portion of their East Coast Conference regular season schedule next weekend, traveling to the University of Bridgeport and Mercy College on October 21 and 22. The Wildcats first square off against the Purple Knights on Saturday (Oct. 21) at 12:00 p.m., followed by another afternoon contest versus the Mavericks on Saturday (Oct. 22) at 1:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Cristina Apostol: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#1 Kailey Ballou: L; 5' 7"; Junior

#2 Meghan Ballou: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#9 Courtney Bernard: MB/RS; 6' 0"; Junior

#4 Jess Kranz: DS; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#8 Sydney MacInnis: S; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#11 Katie McKrell: S; 5' 8"; Senior

#7 Courtney Scanlan: OH; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Ali Greenwood: DS; 5' 6"; Freshman

#5 Jenn Heritz: MH; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 Cristina Apostol
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#1 Kailey Ballou
: 5' 7"; Junior
: L

#2 Meghan Ballou
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH

#9 Courtney Bernard
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MB/RS

#4 Jess Kranz
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: DS

#8 Sydney MacInnis
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: S

#11 Katie McKrell
: 5' 8"; Senior
: S

#7 Courtney Scanlan
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: OH

#3 Ali Greenwood
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: DS

#5 Jenn Heritz
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MH