Women's Volleyball 10/27/2017 12:05:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Women's Volleyball Hosts Tri-Match On Saturday

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (10-11, 6-3 ECC) vs. American International Yellow Jackets (15-9, 8-2 NE10)
Saturday, October 28 | 3:30 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

Daemen Wildcats (10-11, 6-3 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (2-24, 2-7 ECC)
Saturday, October 28 | 7:30 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats  (both matches)
Live Video (both matches)
GAME DAY Coverage (vs. American International)
GAME DAY Coverage (vs. Roberts Wesleyan)

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
Rookie Jenn Heritz was awarded the East Coast Conference Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week for matches played Oct. 16-Oct. 22. The six-foot offensive threat averaged 3.40 kills per set and finished with a .359 hitting percentage to help the Wildcats split a pair of conference road matches against Bridgeport and Mercy. Heritz is now a two-time weekly award recipient. 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 17 of their last 20 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season, and nine of their last 13 matches overall
Daemen ranks in the top four in the categories of assists, kills, assists per set, and digs per set among all East Coast Conference teams thus far
Defensively, rookie libero Georgia Wicker ranks fourth in total digs (309) and third in digs per set (4.07) in the league.
Sophomore Meghan Ballou continues to lead the way offensively for the Wildcats this season; she leads the team with 237 total kills and 3.16 kills per set this season, ranking sixth among ECC leaders in both categories
Senior setter Katie McKrell ranks third in the East Coast Conference in assists (647) and fourth in assists per set (8.99)

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats are coming off a split of two ECC road matches this past weekend, falling at Bridgeport (3-0) before sweeping Mercy in straight sets (3-0). In the loss to Bridgeport, Meghan Ballou, Courtney Scanlan and Cristina Apostol all registered seven kills to lead the Wildcat attack. Defensively, freshman Ali Greenwood led the way with eight digs, while classmate Georgia Wicker notched seven digs. Senior setter Katie McKrell posted 28 assists, seven digs and two blocks in the loss. Daemen needed just 70 minutes to defeat the Mavericks, ousting them in straight-sets (25-15, 25-22, 25-16). Courtney Scanlan and Jenn Heritz, the ECC Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week, combined for 23 of Daemen's 47 kill total. 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 with one error. Katie McKrell and sophomore Sydney MacInnis split action at the setting position, totaling 35 assists in the win. Guiding the Daemen defense was once again Georgia Wicker, who tallied 13 digs. Wicker has now posted double-figure digs in 16 of the 21 matches. Daemen has won 17 of their last 20 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season, and nine of their last 13 matches overall.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING REPORT
The first contest of the tri-match pits Daemen against American International College out of the Northeast-10 conference. The battle at Lumsden will be a rematch of the 2016 East Region Finals. Daemen's history-making 2016 season came to an end after falling to the Yellow Jackets in a five-set thriller last season. The Yellow Jackets were picked to win the conference, in the 2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll, after an Elite Eight appearance in 2016. Head Coach Matt Cribbin entered his sixth season with the Yellow Jackets in 2017 and returned the NE10 Player of the Year, Diva Rivas-Reyes, libero/defensive player of the year, Mercy Rivera, and the Rookie of the Year, Jana Potic. AIC enters the match with a with a 15-9 overall record and a 8-2 conference mark. Potic leads the Yellow Jacket attack with 313 total kills, which ranks second in the NE-10. Rivas-Reyes leads the conference with 3.92 kills per set, while Rivera also ranks first in the league with 486 digs.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. American International : N/A
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: American International 3, Daemen 2 | December 3, 2016 | Amherst, NY. | NCAA Division II East Region Finals

ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen's second match Saturday comes against longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan. Daemen has won five-straight and 15 of the last 20 meetings with the Redhawks. In their first meeting of the 2017 campaign, the Wildcats needed less than 90 minutes to dispatch of the Redhawks, cruising to a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-19, 25-19). A win Saturday would give Daemen a sweep of the season series for the third-straight year. Roberts, which also plays American International at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, enters the week with a 2-24 overall record, and a 2-7 conference mark. Both of RWC's wins this year have come over Mercy, including a five-set thriller on the road this past weekend. The Redhawk offense has been paced by senior Courtney Taylor and junior Kristina Button, the pair has totaled 168 and 121 kills respectively. Junior Elisabeth Rivera and rookie Nikki Simmonds have split time at the setting position, Rivera has dished out 371 assists, while Simmonds has tallied 216. Libero Shelby Strausbaugh leads the RWC defense with 291 total digs.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 15-13
Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Roberts Wesleyan 0 | September 27, 2017 | Rochester, NY.

UP NEXT
Daemen continues East Coast Conference action next weekend Nov. 4-5, hosting NYIT and LIU Post. The Wildcats face off against the Bears at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, followed by another afternoon contest on Sunday against the LIU Post Pioneers at 12:00 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