Wildcats Begin Regional Championship Quest Thursday

11/13/2018 1:45:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
NCAA Division II East Region Championship - Quarterfinal #1
#3 Daemen Wildcats (21-10, 13-1 ECC) vs. #6 American International Yellow Jackets (21-11, 11-3 NE-10)
Thursday, Nov. 15 | 12 p.m. | West Haven, Conn. | Charger Gymnasium

GAME DAY
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
INTERACTIVE BRACKET
SELECTION SHOW
NCAA RELEASE
EAST REGION CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

THE SERVE
Daemen begins its quest for a regional championship Thursday when taking on sixth-seeded American International out of the Northeast-10 Conference. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed, and they'll enter tournament play having won 19 of their last 23 matches, including the last six in a row. Daemen earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship by winning the program's first East Coast Conference Championship this past weekend, defeating Bridgeport (3-1) and Molloy (3-1) on back-to-back days (Nov. 9-10). Their quarterfinal round matchup with AIC is a rematch of the 2016 regional finals, a match won by the Yellow Jackets in a five-set thriller at Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium. AIC earned an at-large bid to the regional tournament this season after advancing to the NE-10 Championship finals last week. The Yellow Jackets had their six-match winning streak snapped in the finals as they fell to Southern Connecticut State in three sets. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 of their last 18 matches, and haven't lost back-to-back contests since mid-September.

THE BRACKET
8381

WILDCATS CLAIM FIRST-EVER ECC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
With wins over fourth-seeded Bridgeport (3-1) on Nov. 9, and second-seeded Molloy (3-1) on Nov. 10, Daemen captured the program's first ECC Championship. Junior middle blocker Cristina Apostol was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 2.63 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while attacking at a .306 clip in the two conference tournament matches. Sophomore outside hitter Allison Post recorded a match-high 18 kills in the win over defending ECC champion Molloy. Redshirt junior right-side hitter Courtney Bernard added a season-high 13 kills in the win.

DAEMEN'S REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Daemen is making their second appearance in the NCAA Division II East Region Championship in just their fourth season of postseason eligibility at the Division II level. The Wildcats own a 2-1 all-time record in the regional tournament, advancing to the regional finals in their only prior appearance back in 2016. As the No. 2 seed in 2016, Daemen was awarded hosting rights and defeated No. 7 Post (3-2) and No. 3 New Haven (3-0), before falling to No. 4 American International (3-2).

DAEMEN VS. REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Daemen owns a 3-1 record against teams in the regional championship field. All three wins have come over fourth-seeded Molloy as the Wildcats swept the teams' two regular season meetings before also knocking them off in the ECC Championship finals. Daemen's lone loss against the regional tournament field was a 3-0 setback against top-seeded New Haven at Lumsden Gymnasium on Sept. 23.

SUPER STEPH
In three seasons as Daemen's head coach, Stephanie Albano has guided the Wildcats to a 57-34 overall record, a 33-9 ECC record, two conference tournament berths, two NCAA tournament berths, two ECC regular season titles and the program's first-ever ECC tournament crown. She has twice been named the ECC Coach of the Year, winning the accolade in 2016 and 2018 when she led the Wildcats to identical 13-1 marks during the ECC regular season. She was also named the NCAA Division II East Region Coach of the Year in 2016 when she led the Wildcats to the regional championship match. A former Gatorade New York State Player of the Year during her scholastic days at Lancaster High School, Albano went on to play collegiately for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. 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 - Allison Post (2.80), Meghan Ballou (2.63) Tirzah Peters (2.48), Cristina Apostol (2.39), Jenn Heritz (2.38), and Sam Logan (2.36). All six players rank in the top 15 in the league, while Post (6th) and Ballou (8th) also rank in the top 10. As a team, Daemen leads the league and ranks 42nd nationally by averaging 13.53 kills 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. In the last seven matches, Post is contributing 3.85 kills and 3.30 digs per set, while attacking at a .236 clip. She has reached double-figure kills in all six of the seven matches. The stretch started Oct. 21 at NYIT when she powered down a career-high 22 kills to go with nine digs and six blocks. Post followed up by contributing 15 kills and seven digs in a win over Queens, then 13 kills and nine digs in a win over Molloy. In the regular season finales, she recorded back-to-back doubles with 17 kills and 14 digs vs. Mercy, and 10 kills and 14 digs vs. Bridgeport. In the ECC Championship tournament, Post recorded nine kills and a career-high 27 digs in a semifinal win over Bridgeport, and went for 18 kills and nine digs in the finals vs. Molloy. Her latest string of good play comes after a five-match stretch from Sept. 21-29, when she 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). In that stretch, Post averaged 2.69 kills and 2.94 digs per set, while attacking at a .197 clip.

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 were coping with the loss of Jenn Heritz who was out with an injury. Ballou has reached double figure kills in 11 of the last 19 matches. For the season, Ballou ranks among the league leaders in total kills (2463- 7th), total attacks (746 - 8th) and kills per set (2.63 - 8th). Ballou was named a second team All-ECC selection for the second straight season.

STRONG UP THE MIDDLE
Sophomore Tirzah Peters and junior Cristina Apostol have combined to give Daemen one of the strongest middle hitter combinations in the ECC this season. Peters has made an early case to be considered the ECC's most improved player after being slowed by injuries as a freshman which resulted in just 16 matches played. Peters has been a consistent force in 2018, and she presently ranks among the league leaders in total kills (258 - 8th) and kills per set (2.48 - 12th). Her .265 hitting percentage also ranks seventh in the conference. Peters has reached double figure kills in 13 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, and went on to earn first team All-ECC honors for the season. Apostol is producing 2.39 kills per set on a .268 hitting percentage, and she leads the team with 60 blocks. She ranks among the league leaders in the total kills (241 - 10th), kills per set (13th), hitting percentage (6th), and total blocks (10th).

ISA'S IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Setter Isa McCaffrey has made an immediate impact in her freshman season, earning first team All-ECC and ECC Co-Setter of the Year honors. The 5-foot-8 Ohio native has racked up 1,085 assists, a total which presently leads the ECC and ranks 61st nationally. She recorded her 1,000th assist in Daemen's 3-0 win over Molloy on Oct. 27 to become just the seventh player to reach that milestone in a single season. McCaffrey has garnered weekly honors from the ECC seven times this season. She was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for Aug. 27-Sept. 2, Oct. 1-7 and Oct. 22-28. She has also been named the ECC Setter of the Week for Sept. 3-9, Sept. 10-16, Sept. 17-23 and Sept. 24-30. She has recorded 30 or more assists in 22 matches this season, including 14 consecutive from Sept. 8 through Oct. 6. Four times this season McCaffrey has topped 50 assists, including a season-high 56 in a win over LIU Post on Sept. 22.

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 30 of the team's 31 matches while making 15 starts so far this season. She's hitting .269 and contributing 1.84 kills per set. Bernard notched a season-high 13 kills in Daemen's 3-1 win over Bridgeport in the ECC semifinals on Nov. 9. She has established new career-highs for sets played (93), kills (171), attack attempts (412) blocks (49) and digs (50).

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 17.19 digs per set. Ballou, the team's lone senior, recently surpassed 900 digs for her career. Both Greenwood and Wicker have spent time as the Wildcats' primary libero. Greenwood leads the team and ranks third in the league with her 4.39 digs-per-set average, She was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 15-21 and Oct. 22-28. Wicker is contributing 2.77 digs per set, and has seen some time at the setting position recently, notching double-figure assists in each of the last six matches.

COMING OF AGE
Freshman outside hitter Sam Logan has averaged 2.35 kills per set over the last 13 matches, dating back to Sept. 30. She totaled at least eight kills in nine of those matches, including a career-best 17 in Daemen's 3-2 win over Mercy on Nov. 3. She has also contributed defensively, totaling 247 digs this season which ranks third on the team. For the season, Logan is producing 2.36 kills and 2.49 digs per set. Her 234 total kills ranks 12th in the conference, and first among all freshmen in the league.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING REPORT
American International is led by head coach Matt Cribbin who has led the Yellow Jackets to a 122-96 over his seven-year tenure. He ranks second in team history for coaching wins, and was named the 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year. AIC has won 20+ matches in each of the last three seasons, and the Yellow Jackets are making their third straight trip to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship. AIC has advanced to the regional finals in each of the last two seasons, winning the title in 2016 with a 3-2 defeat of Daemen. The Yellow Jackets feature five returning players from their 2017 team that went 23-11 overall. After being picked second in the NE-10 preseason poll, the Yellow Jackets finished third with an 11-3 record in league play this season. AIC earned conference tournament wins over sixth-seeded Pace (3-1) and second-seeded Adelphi (3-2) before falling in the final round with a 3-0 loss to streaking Southern Connecticut State. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 of their last 18 matches, and haven't lost back-to-back contests since mid-September. The Yellow Jackets feature a trio of All-NE-10 performers, headlined by junior outside hitter Jana Potic, the 2018 NE-10 Player of the Year. Potic has racked up an NE-10-best 427 kills, while also leading the league and ranking 46th nationally in kills per set (3.75). Senior setter Dolores Kopren earned NE-10 Setter of the Year honors. She ranks second in the conference and 37th nationally by averaging 10.74 assists per set. Sophomore outside hitter Andrea Serra, a transfer from Mayaguez, earned second team All-NE-10 honors while averaging 3.40 kills per set.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
Series Record: 1-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: American International 3, Daemen 2 | Oct. 28, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

DID YOU KNOW?
* Thursday's meeting will mark the third in as many seasons between Daemen and AIC; the teams first met back in 2013 when Daemen scored their only win in the series by a 3-0 final; both of the last two meetings have been five-set wins for AIC, and both have occurred at Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium
* Daemen is 62-29 against all NCAA Division II East Region opponents since the start of the 2015 season; the Wildcats are 20-4 in all regional matches this season alone.

ON THE HORIZON
A win in Thursday's regional quarterfinal would thrust the Wildcats into the regional semifinals against the winner of #2 Adelphi and #7 Southern Connecticut State.

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