Women's Volleyball 9/22/2017 8:49:00 PM Lea Sobieraski Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Katie McKrell Surpasses 2,000 Career Assists In Wildcat Win

Box Score

Congratulations to @DaemenVB's Katie McKrell on becoming the 5th player in team history w/ 2,000 assists in a career! #DCWildcatNation pic.twitter.com/3IuV026Wpw
— Daemen Wildcats (@DaemenAthletics) September 22, 2017

Amherst, N.Y. – Katie McKrell (Webster, N.Y.) surpassed 2,000 career assists to lead the Daemen College women's volleyball team over ECC opponent Mercy College 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-17). Today's match at Lumsden Gymnasium marked each squad's first East Coast Conference game of the 2017 season.

Daemen improved to 4-8 overall and 1-0 in the conference with today's straight-set sweep, while Mercy fell to 3-8 overall with a 0-1 league mark. Today's match was the ninth meeting between the two squads, the Wildcats now lead the all-time series 7-2.

Senior setter Katie McKrell put on a stellar-performance in the Wildcat victory, registering a match-high 24 assists in just one and a half sets of action. McKrell needed 17 assists heading into tonight's matchup to reach the 2,000 mark. In the opening set alone she dished out 16 helpers, and tallied the 17^th in the beginning action of game two. With 2,007 total assists, McKrell ranks fifth in program history and became only the fifth player in team history to reach the 2,000 assists milestone.

Daemen's offense produced a game-high .305 hitting percentage, tallying 44 kills, more than doubling Mercy's kill total of 15. Redshirt-junior Courtney Scanlan (Ellicottville, N.Y.) and sophomore Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y) each recorded double-digit kills for the Wildcats. Scanlan registered a match-high 13 kills and six service aces, while adding six digs. Ballou recorded ten kills and tallied eight digs. Sophomore Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania) added eight kills and two blocks in the win.

Daemen's defense continued to be dominant against the Mavericks, holding Mercy to a .036 attack percentage on 18 total kills. The Wildcats posted 47 digs, 20 of which came from rookie defensive specialist Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) added five digs and four assists for the Wildcats. Sophomore Sydney MacInnis (Superior, Colo.) had a solid all-around performance, notching 10 assists, two kills, three digs and one service ace in two sets of action.

"Our team played really well together tonight," said head coach Stephanie Albano on her squad's commanding victory. "I'm proud of how the team prepared heading into this match. This was a big team win."

The opening set was the closest one of the night with the teams trading points back and forth. Daemen used a quick four-point spurt on the serve of Wicker to take a 14-11 lead after trailing the Mavericks by one. Daemen closed out the set with a kill from Meghan Ballou, followed by a monstrous block by Ballou and Apostol, winning 25-21.

In the second set, the teams battled back and forth before Daemen broke away with a 20-10 advantage on the serve of McKrell. The Wildcats scored eight-consecutive points and ran away with the second set 25-12.

Daemen's momentum and dominance carried into the third and final set. The two ECC foes found themselves notched at 10 apiece, but the Wildcats used a seven-point run on the serve of Scanlan to take a 17-10 lead. Scanlan registered four of her six service aces in the run. The Mavericks were unable to catch the Wildcats who cruised to a 25-17 win.

Daemen wraps up the week and their three-game homestand against perennial ECC powerhouse Bridgeport tomorrow afternoon (September 23). The Wildcats and Purple Knights face off at 1:00 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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