Women's Volleyball 10/8/2018 2:04:00 PM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Streaking Wildcats Look For Redemption Tuesday At Le Moyne

GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #22
Daemen Wildcats (13-8, 7-0 ECC) vs. Le Moyne Dolphins (8-7, 1-5 NE-10)
Tuesday, Oct. 9 | 7 p.m.
Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court

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LIVE STATS

THE SERVE
The streaking Daemen Wildcats play their final non-conference game of the 2018 regular season Tuesday when traveling to Syracuse to face regional rival Le Moyne. It marks the second meeting this season between the Wildcats and Dolphins. Le Moyne scored a 3-2 win over Daemen at the Post Eagles Invitational in early September. Since then, Daemen has rattled off 11 wins in their last 13 matches, and they'll ride a four-match winning streak into Tuesday's contest.

SUPER STEPH
Stephanie Albano enters her third season as Daemen's head coach in 2018. She was promoted to the position in 2016 after serving one season as the team's associate head coach. In her first two seasons at the helm, Albano led the program to a 36-24 overall record and a 20-8 mark in ECC play. In 2016, she was named the East Coast Conference and NCAA Division II East Region Coach of the Year after leading Daemen to the ECC regular season championship. That season also saw Daemen host both the ECC and NCAA Division II East Regional tournaments with the Wildcats advancing to the finals of each. Albano was also selected as one of the American Volleyball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 award recipients in the spring of 2017.

BALANCED ATTACK
The Wildcats have put together arguably the most balanced offensive attack among all ECC teams so far this season. Six players are presently averaging better than 2.0 kills per set - Tirzah Peters (2.87), Meghan Ballou (2.82), Jenn Heritz (2.76), Cristina Apostol (2.50), Allison Post (2.39) and Sam Logan (2.33). Five of the six players rank in the top 15 in the league, while Ballou, Peters and Heritz also rank in the top 10. Only defending ECC champion Molloy boasts as many as four players averaging better than 2.0 kills per set, and no other ECC team has more than three. As a team, Daemen leads the league and ranks 51st nationally by averaging 13.41 kills per set.

THRUWAY RIVALRY
Daemen's 3-1 win over longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 12 ran their winning streak in the all-time series to seven straight. Tirzah Peters led a balanced offensive attack with 14 kills, while Cristina Apostol (13 kills), Sam Logan (12 kills) and Meghan Ballou (12 kills) also contributed. Freshman setter Isa McCaffrey recorded a career-best 55 assists. The win also got Daemen off to a 1-0 start in ECC play for the fourth consecutive season.

BALLING BALLOU
Junior middle/outside hitter Meghan Ballou had her most productive week of the season from Sept. 10-16, averaging a team-best 3.58 kills per set over three matches which earned her ECC Player of the Week honors. Ballou, a second team All-ECC selection last season, opened the week with 12 kills on 28 attempts in a win over Roberts Wesleyan, and she followed up with a season-high 17 kills in a five-set loss to Urbana, two shy of her career-best effort. She ended the week with 14 kills in a win over Franklin Pierce. The production came at a critical time as the Wildcats cope with the loss of Jenn Heritz who has been out with an injury. Ballou has reached double figure kills in eight of the last 10 matches. For the season, Ballou ranks among the league leaders in total kills (192 - 5th), total attacks (542 - 4th) and kills per set (2.82 - 8th).

UPPER TIRZAH
Sophomore middle hitter Tirzah Peters has made an early case to be considered the ECC's most improved player this season. After being slowed by injuries as a freshman, resulting in just 16 matches played, Peters has been a consistent force in 2018. She presently ranks among the league leaders in total kills (198 - 3rd) and kills per set (2.87 - 6th). Her .311 hitting percentage leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference. Peters has reached double figure kills in 11 matches this season, including a career-high 15 in a win over defending Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion Caldwell on Sept. 9. She was named the ECC Player of the Week for Sept. 3-9 after averaging 3.73 kills per set on a .577 hitting percentage over four matches. She was the first Daemen player to earn ECC Player of the Week honors since Amber Drzymala did so in the final week of the 2016 regular season.

ISA'S IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Setter Isa McCaffrey has made an immediate impact in her freshman season. The 5-foot-8 Ohio native has racked up 792 assists, a total which presently leads the ECC and ranks 22nd nationally. McCaffrey (10.85 assists/set) and Molloy's Sophia Smith (10.47) are the only players in the league to be averaging better than 10.0 assists per set, and McCaffrey ranks 27th nationally in that category. The last Daemen player to average better than 10.0 assists per set for an entire season was Kristie Martzolf (11.99) in 2004. McCaffrey has garnered honors from the ECC in the last five successive weeks. She was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for Aug. 27-Sept. 2 after also being named to the All-Tournament Team at the Hall of Fame City Challenge. She was later named the ECC Setter of the Week for Sept. 3-9, Sept. 10-16, Sept. 17-23 and Sept. 24-30.

BERNARD BATTLES BACK
After missing the entire 2017 season with an injury that threatened to end her career, redshirt junior Courtney Bernard has battled her way back into the lineup in 2018. Bernard, who hit .343 and averaged 2.32 kills per set in 2016, has appeared in 20 of the team's 21 matches while making nine starts so far this season. She's hitting .272 and contributing 1.63 kills per set.

GET DEFENSIVE
A trio of experienced defensive specialists have played an important role for the Wildcats this season. Kailey Ballou, Ali Greenwood and Georgia Wicker lead a Wildcat defense that presently ranks third in the ECC by averaging 16.82 digs per set. Ballou, the team's lone senior, is closing in on reaching 900 digs for her career (866 presently). Both Greenwood and Wicker have spent time as the Wildcats' primary libero. Greenwood leads the team and ranks sixth in the league with her 4.05 digs-per-set average, while Wicker is contributing 3.00 digs per set.

POSTING UP
Sophomore outside hitter Allison Post has really come on of late and is playing the best volleyball of her career to date. Over her last five matches, Post has recorded her first matches with double figure kills (10 vs. LIU Post on Sept. 22) and double figure digs (11 vs. New Haven on Sept. 23), as well as her first double-double (13 kills, 15 digs vs. Molloy on Sept. 29). The California native established new career-highs in both kills and digs in the win over defending ECC champion Molloy. In this recent stretch, Post is averaging 2.69 kills and 2.94 digs per set, while attacking at a .197 clip.

LE MOYNE SCOUTING REPORT
Le Moyne is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference and the Dolphins are led by alumnus Lizzie Cheek. The 2010 Le Moyne graduate is now in her fifth season at the helm, and she's led the Dolphins to a 61-57 record to date. The crowning achievement of Cheek's tenure thus far was the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2016. Coming off a 14-12 record last season, the Dolphins return nine players to the mix including a pair of third team All-NE-10 honorees in senior defensive specialist Mikayla Porr and senior right side hitter Jessica Miller. Porr (539 digs, 5.56 digs/set in 2017) was one of only five NE-10 players to surpass 500 digs while also leading the league in digs per set last season. Miller (323 kills, 3.33 kills/set .265 hitting percentage in 2017) finished sixth in the league in kills per set last season; of the 11 NE-10 players with 300+ kills, Miller was one of two with a hitting percentage better than .250. The Dolphins were picked eighth (out of 15) in the NE-10 preseason poll. After opening the season with six wins in their first eight matches, the Dophins have gone just 2-5 in their last seven.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. LE MOYNE
Series Record: 5-6
Streak: Lost 3
Last Meeting: Le Moyne 3, Daemen 2 | Sept. 8, 2018 | Waterbury, Conn.

BUDDING RIVALRY
Tuesday's match marks the second between Daemen and Le Moyne this season. The Wildcats and Dolphins have met at least once in seven consecutive seasons, and three of the last four meetings have been five-set affairs. The Wildcats will be seeking their first road win in the series since Sept. 26, 2012.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen plays looks to extend its Thruway Rivalry winning streak to eight straight when visiting Roberts Wesleyan this Friday, Oct. 12.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Amber Drzymala: OH; 5' 9"; Senior

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

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

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

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

#16 Tirzah Peters: MH; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#13 Amber Drzymala
: 5' 9"; Senior
: OH

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

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

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

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

#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

#16 Tirzah Peters
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MH