TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Daemen Volleyball Classic presented by Millennium Buffalo
Friday, August 24
5 p.m. - Lake Erie Storm (0-0, 0-0 GMAC) vs. Gannon Golden Knights (0-0, 0-0 PSAC)
7 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. St. Rose Golden Knights (0-0, 0-0 NE-10)
Saturday, August 25
10:30 a.m. - Gannon Golden Knights vs. St. Rose Golden Knights
1 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats vs. Lake Erie Storm
3:30 p.m. - Lake Erie Storm vs. St. Rose Golden Knights
6 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats vs. Gannon Golden Knights
All matches played at Lumsden Gymnasium
GAME LINKS
Tournament Home Page
Live Stats (all matches)
Live Video (all matches)
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 has 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.
2017 RECAP
The 2017 campaign saw Daemen post an 11-16 overall record and a 7-7 mark in ECC play. The top five teams in the league last season (Molloy, LIU Post, NYIT, Bridgeport, Daemen) really separated themselves by going a combined 49-21 in league play (.700 winning percentage), compared to the combined record of the league's bottom three teams (Queens, Roberts Wesleyan, Mercy) which was 7-35 (.167 winning percentage). Daemen finished comfortably ahead of sixth-place Queens (7-17, 4-10 ECC), but their 7-7 league record was one win shy of fourth-place Bridgeport (12-16, 8-6 ECC) who captured the fourth and final conference tournament berth.
RETURNING WILDCATS
The Wildcats return 10 players from their 2017 roster, and those returning accounted for 74 percent of the team's total kills and 73 percent of the team's total digs. The group of returners is headlined by junior outside hitter/middle hitter Meghan Ballou and sophomore middle hitter/right side hitter Jenn Heritz. Ballou led the team in kills (303), kills per set (3.06) and total attacks (934) last season en route to earning second team All-ECC honors. She also led the team with 11 double-doubles last season. Heritz was named the team's MVP after putting together a fine rookie season. A two-time ECC Rookie of the Week honoree, Heritz led the team in blocks (48) and contributed 214 kills, tops among the team's six freshmen. The Wildcats also retain the services of Cristina Apostol, a 6-foot-2 junior middle blocker who has seen action in 56 of a possible 60 matches over her first two collegiate seasons. Apostol notched a career-best 10 matches with double-figure kills in 2017, while also contributing 47 blocks.
GET DEFENSIVE
The Wildcats also return a trio of experienced defensive specialists in Kailey Ballou, Ali Greenwood and Georgia Wicker. Ballou, the team's lone senior, enters her final collegiate campaign with 79 matches and 300 sets under her belt. In that time, she's posted 10 or more digs in a match 39 times. Both Greenwood and Wicker spent time as the Wildcats' primary libero in 2017. Wicker totaled a team-best 409 digs, the most for a Wildcat newcomer since Paige Tilert's 401 during the 2012 season.
REPLACING MCKRELL
One familiar face that is not back with the team is setter Katie McKrell who was lost to graduation. A four-year team member, McKrell closed her career with 2,549 assists - one of only four players in team history to surpass the 2,500 milestone. She also ranks second all-time at Daemen with 8.22 assists per set for her career. The task of replacing McKrell will likely fall on the shoulders of freshman Isa McCaffrey, the only true setter on the Wildcats' roster in 2018. McCaffrey earned first team All-District honors and surpassed 1,000 assists in both her junior and senior seasons at Magnificat High School in suburban Cleveland.
THE EDEN PIPELINE
The Wildcats also landed 5-foot-10 outside hitter
Sam Logan as part of their 2018 recruiting class. Logan comes to Daemen from the storied program at Eden High School where she helped the Lady Raiders to three consecutive New York State Class C championships. A two-time All-State honoree, Logan is the latest Eden product to don the Daemen blue and white as she joins fellow Eden alums Kailey and
Meghan Ballou. Logan is expected to make an immediate impact this season for the Wildcats.
SAINT ROSE SCOUTING REPORT
Saint Rose is coming off a 12-17 campaign in 2017 that saw them finish 12th in the 15-team Northeast-10 Conference with a league record of 3-11. Vanessa Volpe-Rivera, a 2005 Saint Rose graduate, enters her third season as the head coach at her alma mater. The Golden Knights have won at least 10 matches in seven consecutive seasons, and Volpe-Rivera has guided the team to a 23-32 record over the last two seasons. Saint Rose returns nine players from last season's roster, including a pair of players who finished among the NE-10's statistical leaders; senior middle hitter/right side hitter Shayna Webber finished third in the NE-10 (and 49th nationally) with a .336 hitting percentage in 2017 while totaling 250 kills; junior defensive specialist Tina Ceriello ranked fourth in the NE-10 with 5.04 digs per set and 534 total digs last season. Also back is junior outside hitter Stevie Schweitzer who led the Golden Knights with 291 kills and 2.72 kills per set last season. As a team, Saint Rose was solid at the net in 2017, leading the NE-10 in total blocks (228) and blocks per set (2.13).
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. SAINT ROSE
Series Record: 3-0
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Saint Rose 0 | Sept. 16, 2017 | Albany, N.Y.
LAKE ERIE SCOUTING REPORT
Great Midwest Athletic Conference member Lake Erie posted a 26-9 overall record and advanced to the semifinal round of the GMAC Tournament in 2017. The Storm will be led by first-year head coach Kyle Peck who replaces Kevin Foeman on the bench. Foeman had led the Storm to a 54-45 record in three seasons on the job. Peck comes over after head coaching stints at Carson-Newman (beach volleyball) and Gulf Coast State. Eight players return for Lake Erie, including second team All-GMAC honoree Alexis Thomas, but Peck will be charged with replacing four all-conference players lost to graduation or transfer. Thomas, a senior setter, ranked ninth in the GMAC last season by averaging 6.00 assists per set, and she finished second on the team with 350 digs. Senior outside hitter Crystal Kedroske is the team's leading offensive player among returners; she produced 208 total kills last season.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. LAKE ERIE
Series Record: 1-2
Streak:
Last Meeting: Lake Erie 3, Daemen 1 | Sept. 8, 2017 | California, Pa.
GANNON SCOUTING REPORT
Gannon is coming off a magical 2017 season that saw them post a 32-7 overall record en route to an appearance in the national semifinals. The Golden Knights are led by 12th-year head coach Matt Darling who has engineered a string of nine straight 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament berths. The two-time defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Northwest Division champions return 10 players from their 2017 roster, including all-conference honorees Alexandra Smith (Jr., OH) and Ashley Kerestes (So., MB). Smith powered down 351 total kills (2.56 kills/set) and added 456 digs (3.33 digs/set) in 2017. Kerestes contributed a team-high 150 blocks (1.32 blocks/set) and added 205 kills on a .290 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Toni Leitshuh, who tied for the team lead with 141 sets played last season, also returns. Leitshuh notched 174 kills and 481 digs in 2017. Sophomore setter Ashley Beyers returns after leading the team in assists (823) and service aces (54).
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. GANNON
Series Record: 1-9
Streak:
Last Meeting: Gannon 3, Daemen 0 | Sept. 12, 2017 | Erie, Pa.
ON THE HORIZON
Daemen plays in its second of three early season tournaments next weekend at the Hall of Fame City Challenge hosted by Malone University in Canton, Ohio. The two-day tournament (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) has Daemen playing Seton Hill, Southern Indiana, Notre Dame (Ohio) and tournament host Malone.
