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

Women's Volleyball Fights For Final ECC Playoff Spot This Weekend

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (11-14, 7-5 ECC) vs. Queens College Knights (5-17, 2-10 ECC)
Saturday, November 11 | 12:00 p.m.
Flushing, N.Y. | Fitzgerald Gymnasium

Daemen Wildcats (11-14, 7-5 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (21-5, 10-2 ECC)
Sunday, November 12 | 12:00 p.m.
Rockville Centre, N.Y. | Quealy Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats  (vs. Queens)
Live Stats (vs. Molloy)
Live Video (both matches)
GAME DAY Coverage (vs. Queens)
GAME DAY Coverage  (vs. Molloy)

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 18 of their last 23 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season
Daemen ranks in the top four in the categories of assists, kills, kills per set, assists per set, and digs per set among all East Coast Conference teams thus far
Defensively, rookie libero Georgia Wicker ranks fifth in total digs (380) 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 282 total kills and 3.10 kills per set this season, ranking seventh and fifth among ECC leaders in both categories
Senior setter Katie McKrell ranks third in the East Coast Conference in assists (810) and fourth in assists per set (9.20)

PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Wildcats need wins in both of their final regular season contests in order to qualify for the ECC Tournament. Daemen needed two losses by either NYIT or Bridgeport to even be in playoff contention at the start of the week. Bridgeport dropped two consecutive matches, a 3-1 loss to LIU Post and a straight-set defeat to NYIT, to give the Wildcats the chance at post-season action.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats are coming off a pair of home losses this past weekend, falling in an epic five-set battle to NYIT followed by a straight-set loss to LIU Post. Daemen has won 18 of their last 23 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season. Daemen rallied from being down two sets to none, to force a fifth and final set, but ultimately was unable to close the book on the Bears (20-25, 26-24, 26-24, 26-24, 18-20). The Wildcats were led by freshman Jenn Heritz, Meghan Ballou and Courtney Scanlan, the trio posted 17, 15 and 14 kills respectively. Senior setter Katie McKrell dished out 55 assists and tallied six digs. Defensively, the freshman duo of Georgia Wicker and Ali Greenwood combined for 33 of the team's 72 digs. Against the Pioneers, Katie McKrell had an impressive performance in her last regular season home match. She posted 31 assists, bringing her season total to 809 and career total to 2,467 in the loss. Rookie Jenn Heritz led the Wildcat attack for the second-straight game, notching a team-high nine kills.

QUEENS SCOUTING REPORT
The final weekend of the regular season starts with Daemen visiting Queens on Saturday, November 11. The Wildcats' will be going for the season sweep against the Knights; Daemen defeated Queens 3-1 in the teams' prior meeting this season (Oct. 14). The Knights, who will not qualify for the ECC tournament, have posted a 5-17 overall record, including a 2-10 conference mark. Cassidy Steward, reigning ECC Co-Rookie of the Year and All-ECC Second Team selection in 2016, leads the team with 182 kills, while Kristen Moore ranks sixth in the league in assists (610). Senior outside hitter Reggie Anthony has led the Knight's defense, having posted 260 digs through 22 matches.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Queens : 6-3
Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Queens 1 | October 14, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen's second match of the weekend come against a Molloy team (21-5, 10-2 ECC) which is battling for the ECC regular season championship; and the right to host the upcoming ECC Tournament. The Lions have been the surprise team in the league this season after being selected to finish fifth in the ECC preseason poll. Daemen is only one of two ECC teams with wins over Molloy this season; the Wildcats swept the Lions in straight-sets in their first meeting this season (Oct. 13). Daemen will be tested as Molloy is 12-1 at home this season, but the Wildcats do own an 802 advantage and has won three-straight in the all-time series with Molloy. Carly Banks ranks among the leaders in kills (365-4th), kills per set (3.88-3^rd) and hitting percentage (.282-4^th). Setter Sophia Smith is only one of two players in the league to be averaging more than 10 assists per set this season (10.92) and has dished out 1048 total assists.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Molloy: 8-2
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Molloy 0 | October 13, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

UP NEXT
Depending on this weekend's results, the Wildcats have the opportunity to earn the fourth and final spot in the ECC Championship Tournament bracket. If Daemen wins both games they will play next Friday, November 17 in the tournament semifinal round, time and place is to be determined.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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