Amherst, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's volleyball team outlasted visiting University of Bridgeport for a wild 3-2 victory at Lumsden Gymnasium today in East Coast Conference action.  The Wildcats appeared ready to make quick work of UB after winning the first two sets (25-20, 25-22), but the Purple Knights rallied with wins in the third (25-23) and fourth (25-20) sets to force a fifth and deciding set.  Daemen battled back to take the final set 15-12.
 
With today's victory, Daemen improved to 5-8 overall with an unblemished 2-0 conference mark.  Daemen has now won 13-straight, and 15 of their last 16 ECC regular season matches, and 15 of their last 16. The visiting Purple Knights dropped to 4-8 overall and an even 1-1 in the league.
 
Today's ECC showdown marked the ninth time the two squads have squared off; Bridgeport leads the all-time series 6-3, but the Wildcats have won the last three meetings.
 
Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) and Courtney Scanlan (Ellicottville, N.Y.) combined for 29 of the team's season-high 60 kills.  Ballou tied her career-high kill total of 17 and added 13 digs, good for her fifth double-double of the season.  Scanlan also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs.  Sophomore Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania) and freshman Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.) each registered double-figure kills and four blocks for the Wildcats.  Apostol tallied 11 kills for a .250 hitting percentage and Heritz registered 10 kills for a .261 hitting percentage.  Rounding out the Wildcat attack was rookie outside hitter Abby Francis (Goodrich, Mich.) who posted a team-high .300 attack percentage, notching seven kills in the sweep.
 
Senior Katie McKrell (Webster, N.Y.), recent member of the 2,000 career assists club, doubled up with a season-high 51 assists and 13 digs.  Rookie defensive specialist Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) tallied a career-high 23 digs, her second consecutive game with 20 or more digs.  Junior Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) tabbed a season-high 16 digs and added two service aces for the Wildcats.
 
"Another complete team effort to get the win.  It wasn't always pretty, but we found a way to get it done," said head coach Stephanie Albano on her team's five-set thriller over Bridgeport.  "We are focused and committed to getting better."
 
In the opening set the two teams traded points back and forth, finding themselves notched 14-14.  The Wildcats took a 20-15 advantage after outscoring the Purple Knights 6-1.  UB was unable to overcome the five-point deficit, falling to Daemen 25-20.
 
The Wildcats trailed 9-7 early in set two, before they put together a 8-3 run to take the 15-12 lead.  A kill from Jenn Heritz and Courtney Scanlan capped the Wildcat run.  The Purple Knights fought back and evened the score 17-17, but Daemen captured the 25-22 victory, nailing down 15 set kills compared to Bridgeport's nine.
 
Bridgeport tallied 16 kills in both the third and fourth games of the match, posting their highest hitting percentages of the night with .268 and .342.  They committed eight errors in the combined sets, and went on to win both games, setting up a fifth and final set.
 
The deciding set like the rest of the match was a barn burner, with the Wildcats in front 8-7.  A monstrous kill from Abby Francis followed by two powerful attacks by Meghan Ballou gave Daemen the 11-7 lead.  Bridgeport crawled back with two (10-12), but Ballou and Courtney Scanlan registered two kills apiece to secure the match-clinching win 15-12.
 
The Wildcats travel to long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday, September 27 for another East Coast Conference show down, the match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. 
 
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