Women's Volleyball 10/20/2017 11:00:00 AM Lea Sobieraski, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Women's Volleyball Jumps Into Second Portion Of ECC Schedule

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (9-10, 5-2 ECC) vs. Bridgeport Purple Knights (8-11, 4-3 ECC)
Saturday, October 21 | 12:00 p.m.
Bridgeport, CT | Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium

Daemen Wildcats (9-10, 5-2 ECC) vs. Mercy Mavericks (5-17, 0-7 ECC)
Sunday, October 22 | 1:30 p.m.
Valhalla, N.Y. | West Chester Community College Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats  (vs. Bridgeport)
Live Stats (vs. Mercy)
Live Video (both matches)
GAME DAY Coverage


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 libero Georgia Wicker was named the East Coast Conference Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week for matches played Oct. 9-15. The five-foot-three defensive specialist, helped the Wildcats earn a pair of conference matches against Molloy and Queens. Wicker registered 48 total digs in the two matches, averaging an impressive .074 kill percentage. 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

Daemen has won 16 of their 18 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season, and eight of their last 11 matches overall
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 fourth in total digs (289) and third in digs per set (4.13) in the league.
Sophomore Meghan Ballou continues to lead the way offensively for the Wildcats this season; she leads the team with 226 total kills and 3.23 kills per set this season, ranking fifth among ECC leaders in both categories
Senior setter Katie McKrell ranks third in the East Coast Conference in assists (599) and fourth in assists per set (9.08)

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen enters the weekend in a three-way tie for second place in the East Coast Conference standings. The Wildcats are coming off back-to-back ECC home wins over Molloy and Queens this past weekend. Daemen swept Molloy in straight sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-19) on Friday and defeated Queens in four frames (21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-16) on Saturday. DC has won 16 of their 18 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season, and eight of their last 11 matches overall. Sophomore middle blocker Cristina Apostol tied her season-high kill total with 15 and notched an impressive .429 attack percentage against the Lions. Daemen's strong defensive showing was led by rookie libero Georgia Wicker's 19 digs. The Wildcats held Molloy to a .074 hitting percentage, their lowest of the season thus far. Against the Knights, Apostol led the attack with another 15-kills performance. Courtney Scanlan and Meghan Ballou registered 12 and 11 kills respectively. Katie McKrell dished out a match-high 43 assists and added seven digs. Wicker registered her fourth 20-plus dig performance with a career-high 29 digs.

BRIDGEPORT SCOUTING REPORT
The Wildcats and Purple Knights will be meeting for the second time this season; Daemen defeated Bridgeport in five sets on Sept. 23 for their third-straight win in the all-time series (Bridgeport leads 6-3). UB enters the week with an overall record of 8-11, and a 4-3 ECC mark. Bridgeport had won seven out of eight matches before dropping their last three games (vs. NYIT, 3-1; at LIU Post, 3-0; vs. Bentley, 3-0). Senior Bruna Santos leads the Purple Knights in kills per set at 3.13, and is followed by sophomore Amanda Hennemann at 3.08 kills per set. Junior setter Ellie Rich is averaging 9.44 assists per set which ranks third in the league. Defensively, freshman Olivia Storaci leads the team in digs with 3.85 per set, ranking fifth among all ECC leaders. Senior Sheri Middleton ranks first on in the team in blocks with 48 and ranks fifth in the conference with .75 blocks per set.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Bridgeport: 3-6
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Bridgeport 2 | September 23, 2017 | Amherst, NY.

MERCY SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen closes the week by playing its second ECC road contest in as many days, facing off against the Mercy Mavericks. Mercy, which hosts Dominican (Thursday) and Roberts Wesleyan (Saturday) before facing the Wildcats, enters the week with an overall record of 5-17, and an ECC mark of 0-7. Daemen improved to 7-2 in the all-time series with Mercy following their straight-set sweep earlier this season. Mercy is coming off a 2-3 week with wins over Georgian Court and Bloomfield. Courtney Gebhardt leads the Mercy attack with 200 kills thus far, while Sa'Naya Johnson and Kaitlyn Partridge have registered 158 and 125 kills respectively. Brooke Runge has dished out 488 total assists to guide the Maverick offense. Defensively, Neysha Gonzalez has tallied 252 digs thus far.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Mercy: 7-2
Streak: Won 6
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Mercy 0 | October 20, 2017 | Amherst, NY.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns home for a tri-match on Saturday, October 28. The Wildcats host American International College in a non-conference game at 3:30 p.m., followed by an ECC battle against longtime-rival Roberts Wesleyan at 7:30 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