Women's Volleyball 10/6/2017 10:00:00 AM Lea Sobieraski, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcats Travel To Long Island For ECC Showdowns This Weekend

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (7-8, 3-0 ECC) vs. NYIT Bears (12-4, 1-2 ECC)
Saturday, October | 12:00 p.m.
Old Westbury, N.Y. | Recreation Hall

Daemen Wildcats (6-8, 3-0 ECC) vs. LIU Post Pioneers (15-3, 2-1 ECC)
Sunday, October 8 | 12:00 p.m.
Brookville, N.Y. | Pratt Recreation Center

GAME LINKS
Live Stats (vs. NYIT)
Live Stats (vs. LIU Post)
Live Video (Both matches)
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.).

DEFENSIVE DUO
Freshmen Ali Greenwood and Georgia Wicker have made an immediate impact on the Wildcats, ranking first and second on the team in digs. Wicker, a 5-foot-3 defensive specialist, has recorded 201 digs and is averaging 3.59 digs per set. Greenwood, a 5-foot-6 defensive specialist, has registered 148 total digs and is averaged 3.61 digs per set in 11 matches. Greenwood has been out with an injury but is expected to return to action this weekend. Wicker has tallied 20 or more digs in three of the last four matches for the Wildcats, and has posted double-figure digs in 11 of the team's 15 contests.

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 2,058 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.

GOING STREAKING
Daemen has won 14-straight East Coast Conference regular season matches dating back to last season. The Wildcats are the defending ECC regular season champion after winning their final 11 regular season league contests in 2016 to finish with a 13-1 mark and have started the 2017 season with an unblemished 3-0 conference record. Daemen's last regular season league loss was October 1, 2016 against the visiting NYIT Bears.

FIVE SETS ON THE WILDCATS

In 15 matches Daemen has averaged 16 digs per set, compared to their opponent's 14.5 digs per set
Daemen ranks in the top four in the categories of assists, kills, assists per set, service aces and digs among all East Coast Conference teams thus far
Redshirt Junior Courtney Scanlan ranks fifth in the ECC in service aces with 24, and sixth in service aces per set with .43
Sophomore Meghan Ballou leads the Wildcats with a 3.14 kills per set and 176 total kills, which ranks fifth and seventh among the ECC leaders in those respective statistical categories
Senior setter Katie McKrell ranks fourth in the East Coast Conference in both assists (459) and assists per set (8.83)

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen is coming off a 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21) non-league win over Pace University in a neutral site contest played last Saturday at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan; it was Daemen's second win of the week at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan. With the win, the Wildcats improved to 7-8 overall with an unblemished 3-0 ECC mark. Sophomore Megan Ballou had a stellar performance to pace the Wildcats, leading the way with a career-best 19 kills and 20 digs, good for her sixth double-double of the season. Three other Wildcats posted double-figure kills in the win, including Courtney Scanlan (16), Cristina Apostol (14) and Jenn Heritz (12). Scanlan also registered 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior Katie McKrell doubled up with a season-high 59 assists and 10 digs. The Wildcats had five players record double-digit digs in the four-set defeat. Freshman libero Georgia Wicker tallied a career-high 23 digs, while Kailey Ballou recorded 13.

NYIT SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen faces its toughest test thus far in conference play when visiting conference favorite NYIT on Saturday. The Wildcats enter the contest with a 14-match regular season conference winning streak dating back to last season. Daemen split the regular season series with the Bears in 2016, before NYIT imposed revenge by defeating Daemen in the ECC Tournament title match last November to capture their first ECC tournament championship in 26 years. NYIT was picked to win the conference in this year's ECC Preseason Poll under the tutelage of head coach Gail Wasmus, who entered her 32^nd season with the Bears in 2017. Also earning preseason recognition was senior setter Allison Fowler. The two-time-reigning ECC Setter of the year was selected the Preseason Player of the Year. Currently, Fowler ranks second in total assists (637) and assists per set (10.62) in the conference. The Bears are off to a 12-4 start this season, but have won just one of their first three ECC contests; a five set loss Sept. 20 to Molloy snapped an eight-game winning streak and the Bears suffered another five-set lost to LIU Post on Sept. 27 against LIU Post. NYIT is coming off a 3-1 non-conference win over Wilmington on Sept. 30. Karolina Moderova led the way with 19 kills, while Fowler dished out 38 assists and Chessie Santeramo tallied 19 digs. Offensively, the Bears have been paced by Tiffany Verni (233 kills) and Karolina Moderova (228 kills) who rank second and third among the ECC leaders in kills.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. NYIT: 3-7
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: NYIT 3, Daemen 1 | November 19, 2016 | Amherst, NY. | East Coast Conference Tournament

LIU POST SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen closes out the week by facing its second 2016 ECC Tournament Qualifier in as many days, squaring off against LIU Post. The Wildcats swept the regular season series with LIU Post last season, and knocked off the Pioneers in the semifinal round of the ECC Tournament last November. The Pioneers were slotted fourth in the ECC Preseason Poll after an 8-6 conference record in 2016. The Pioneers returned All-ECC Second Team selection Danielle Valenza, who led the squad with 352 kills, finishing fifth overall in the ECC. Also back is another All-ECC Second Team honoree in Rachel Londot. Londot led the team in service aces (37) and digs (333), while ranking second on the team in kills with 275 a year ago. The Pioneers enter the weekend with a 15-3 overall record, having won six-straight matches and 11 of their last 12; the squad's only recent loss came Sept. 19 at Molloy in five sets. Londot has continued to lead the way for the Pioneers, the junior outside hitter ranks second in the ECC in services aces (35) and services aces per set (.54), and fourth in kills (214) and kills per set (3.29). Also among the top conference leaders is veteran libero Indira Rojas. Rojas's 314 season digs and 4.98 digs per set rank second in the conference in both statistical categories. The Pioneers battle Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday before the meet up with the Wildcats the following afternoon.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. LIU Post: 5-4
Streak: Won 4
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, LIU Post 1 | November 18, 2016 | Amherst, NY. | East Coast Conference Tournament

UP NEXT
The Wildcats take a week hiatus before traveling to Long Island for East Coast Conference action next weekend (Oct. 7-8). Daemen faces off againt NYIT on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and takes on LIU Post Sunday 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