VALHALLA, N.Y. – In just 70 minutes of action, the Daemen College women's volleyball team defeated Mercy College this afternoon, cruising to a 3-0 victory (25-15, 25-22, 25-16) in an East Coast Conference contest at the West Chester Community College Gymnasium. 
 
The Wildcat win today improved the team to 10-11 on the season with a 6-3 conference mark.  Daemen swept Mercy in their previous meeting of the season, and now leads the all-time series with the Mavericks 8-2.  Mercy fell to 6-19 overall and 0-9 in the league.
 
Redshirt junior Courtney Scanlan (Ellicottville, N.Y.) and freshman Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.) combined for 23 of Daemen's 47 kills to lead the way.  Scanlan registered a game-high 12 kills and added six digs, two aces and two digs in the sweep.  Heritz posted an impressive .417 attack percentage, notching 11 kills and only committing one error.  Rounding out the Wildcat attack was rookie Tirzah Peters (Amherst, N.Y.) and Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.), the pair recorded six and five kills respectively.  The Wildcats posted a .257 hitting percentage in the match, compared to just .037 for the hosts.
 
Senior Katie McKrell (Rochester, N.Y.) and sophomore Sydney MacInnis (Superior, Colo.) split action at the setting position, totaling 35 assists in the win.  McKrell dished out 20 assists, while MacInnis posted 15 helpers.  Defensively, Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) led the way with a game-high 13 digs.  The rookie libero has now posted double-figure digs in 16 of the 21 possible matches thus far.  Classmate Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) tallied 6 digs, while Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) and McKrell each posted 5 digs.
 
In the opening set, Daemen used an eight-point burst to take a 15-10 lead on the serve of Courtney Scanlan.  Heritz registered two kills in the run, while Wicker and Abby Francis (Goodrich, Mich.) recorded single kills.  The closest the Mavericks would get within the Wildcats was four-points (18-14).  Daemen outscored the hosts 7-2 in the final points of the set, winning the first frame 25-15.
 
With Daemen leading 15-10 in the second set, Mercy outscored the Wildcats 9-4 to even the score 19-19.  But aided by a Maverick attacking error and a kill from Scanlan, Daemen took the 24-21 advantage, and captured the second set 25-22.
 
The Wildcats powered down 19 kills while committing just four errors (.341 attack percentage) in the third and final set, while holding Mercy to a .000 hitting percentage.  The Wildcats held a 17-12 advantage after a five-point spurt on the serve of Wicker, and the Mavericks were unable to narrow the Daemen lead.  The Wildcats won six of the seven last points of the set, winning the frame 25-16. 
 
Daemen returns home for a tri-match on Saturday, October 28.  The Wildcats first 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.
 
For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's volleyball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter.