Women's Volleyball 9/19/2017 10:05:00 PM Lea Sobieraski Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcats Fall To Le Moyne In Home Opener

Box Score Amherst, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's volleyball team fell in straight sets to regional rival Le Moyne College (19-25, 14-25, 22-25) in non-conference action, tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats made their 2017 home debut after playing their first ten games on the road.

With the loss, Daemen drops to 3-8 on the season. Tonight's match marked the ninth time the two teams have faced off; with the win the Dolphins have won four of the nine contests. The last time Daemen defeated Le Moyne was September 16, 2015. Le Moyne is now 6-6 on the year after making their first-ever NCAA appearance in 2016.

Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.), East Coast Conference Rookie of the week, was the only Wildcat to tally double-figure kills. The 6-foot middle hitter registered a .318 hitting percentage, nailing down ten kills with three errors on 22 total attacks. Sophomore Courtney Scanlan (Ellicotville, N.Y.) and freshman Allison Post (Windsor, Calif.) rounded out the Daemen offense, the pair added eight and five kills respectively.

Senior setter Katie McKrell (Webster, N.Y.) inched closer to reaching the 2,000 career assists milestone with her team-high 24. McKrell, sits just 17 shy of joining an elite group of players who have garnered this achievement. With her current career total of 1,983 she ranks fifth in program history for career total assists.

The Wildcat defense was once again led by rookie libero Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.). Greenwood had the only double-digit dig performance on the Daemen squad with 13. Classmate Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) registered seven, while Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y) chipped in with five.

The teams traded points early in game one but the Dolphins used a five-point run to break a 5-5 tie and took control 10-5. Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania) nailed down a kill to put the Wildcats within four 15-11, but that was the closest they would ever get. Le Moyne utilized two four-point spurts to close out the opening set 25-19.

Game two began in similar fashion with the two squads notched at 8. However, the visitors outscored the Wildcats 12-3 to take the 20-11 lead. Daemen came no closer than seven points the rest of the game, dropping set two 14-25.

The third and final game was the closest of them all, with the score tied six different times throughout the set. Le Moyne registered 15 kills and 4 errors, while Daemen tallied 14 kills and 5 errors. Le Moyne ousted Daemen 25-22 to seal the straight-set victory.

Junior outside hitter Jessica Miller (Williamsville, N.Y.) paced a balanced Le Moyne attack with 11 kills, two blocks and two assists in front of her hometown crowd. Anna Hafoka (Hurst, Texas) added ten kills and three blocks, while senior setter Kendall Corcoran (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) dished out a game-high 33 assists for the Dolphins.

Daemen begins defense of its East Coast Conference regular season championship this weekend by hosting Mercy on Friday and ECC powerhouse Bridgeport on Saturday. The games are set to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 22), followed by a 1:00 p.m. start on Saturday (Sept. 23) at Lumsden Gymnasium.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's volleyball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenVB on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#10 Georgia Wicker: DS; 5' 3"; Freshman

#14 Allison Post: OH; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#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

#10 Georgia Wicker
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: DS

#14 Allison Post
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: OH