Women's Volleyball 11/3/2017 11:22:00 AM Lea Sobieraski, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Women's Volleyball Hosts Last Regular Season Home Contests

Wildcats Celebrate Senior Day On Sunday

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (11-12, 7-3 ECC) vs. NYIT Bears (18-7, 6-4 ECC)
Saturday, November 4 | 12:00 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

Daemen Wildcats (11-12, 7-3 ECC) vs. LIU Post Pioneers (24-4, 8-2 ECC)
Sunday, November 5 | 12:00 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats  (both matches)
Live Video (both matches)
GAME DAY Coverage (vs. NYIT)
GAME DAY Coverage  (vs. LIU Post)

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 21 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season, and 10 of their last 15 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 (351) and third in digs per set (4.18) in the league.
Sophomore Meghan Ballou continues to lead the way offensively for the Wildcats this season; she leads the team with 261 total kills and 3.14 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 (724) and fourth in assists per set (9.04)

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats are coming off a split of two home matches as part of their own tri-match this past Saturday, falling in a five-set thriller to American International before besting ECC foe Roberts Wesleyan in straight sets. Daemen has won 18 of their last 21 ECC regular season matches dating back to last season, and 10 of their last 15 matches overall. The league win over Roberts was important as the Wildcats maintain their grip on a two-way tie for third place in the ECC standings, just one game back of the first-place tie between LIU Post and Molloy. The Wildcats' loss to AIC came in a rematch of last season's East Region Finals. Courtney Scanlan registered a career-high 20 kills in the losing effort, while Meghan Ballou added 16 kills. Katie McKrell totaled a match-high 51 assists – her third 50+ assist match of the season. Defensively, rookie Georgia Wicker led the way with a career-best 32 digs. In the sweep over RWC, the Wildcats posted a .395 hitting percentage, their highest of the season thus far and held the Redhawks to a slim .025 attack percentage. Cristina Apostol registered the lone double-digit kill performance, nailing down 10 kills and adding three blocks. Ballou and Scanlan rounded out the Wildcat attack, notching eight and seven kills respectively.

SENIOR SALUTE
Career Stats: 294 sets played, 87 matches played, 2382 assists, 8.10 assists per set, 458 digs, 67 kills, 47 service aces, 35 total blocks
Career Highlights: Recorded the 2,000th assist of her career on Sept. 22, 2017 vs. Mercy...ranks fourth in program in total assists (2382) and second in assists per set (8.10)...registered career highs in assists (1025), digs (184), kills (106) and assists per set (9.67) in her sophomore season...tallied a career high 63 assists vs. Kutztown on Sept. 27, 2014...recorded 50+ assists in eight matches....registered 11 double-double performances

NYIT SCOUTING REPORT
The first contest of the weekend pits Daemen against the NYIT Bears for the second time this season. In the first meeting of the year, the Bears handed the Wildcats their first conference loss of the season, as the Wildcats were held to a slim .091 hitting percentage. The Bears ousted Daemen in four sets (19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 24-26) in early October. NYIT enters the weekend 19-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference, and currently rank fifth in the conference standings. NYIT, which boasts the top two offensive players in the league (Tiffany Verni – 375 kills, 3.99 kills per set; Karolina Moderova – 368 kills, 3.91 kills per set), finds themselves amongst a group of five teams competing for four conference tournament berths.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. NYIT : 3-8
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: NYIT 3, Daemen 1 | October 7, 2017 | Old Westbury, N.Y.

LIU POST PIONEERS SCOUTING REPORT
Daemen's second match of the weekend comes against an LIU Post team (24-4, 8-2) which opened the week in a tie for first place atop the ECC standings, however Molloy won two league matches over the week to overtake the top spot. Daemen will be looking to split the season series with the Pioneers after falling 3-0 in the team's first meeting of the year on Oct. 8. The Pioneer win snapped their four-match losing streak in the series. Sunday's meeting will be the fifth in the last two season; Daemen defeated LIU Post in the semifinal round of last season's ECC tournament. Rachel Londot has continued to drive the Pioneer attack, registering 330 kills and 3.47 kills per set, ranking fourth among all ECC leaders in both categories. Defensively, veteran libero Indira Rojas has led the way. Rojas's 474 digs and 4.69 digs per set rank second in the conference.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. LIU Post Pioneer: 5-5
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: LIU Post 3, Daemen 0 | October 8, 2017 | Brookeville, N.Y.

UP NEXT
Daemen wraps up East Coast Conference regular season action on the road next weekend (Nov. 11-12). The Wildcats face off against Queens on Saturday, November 11 at 12:00 p.m., followed by another 12:00 p.m. contest at Molloy on Sunday, November 12.

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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