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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
wvb bench vs gannon
3
Winner Lake Erie LEC 1-1
0
Daemen DAE 1-1
Winner
Lake Erie LEC
1-1
3
Final
0
Daemen DAE
1-1
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Lake Erie LEC 25 25 25 (3)
Daemen DAE 17 20 22 (0)
3
Winner Gannon GAN 3-0
0
Daemen DAE 1-2
Winner
Gannon GAN
3-0
3
Final
0
Daemen DAE
1-2
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Gannon GAN 25 25 25 (3)
Daemen DAE 16 13 20 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Drop A Pair To Close Out Opening Tournament

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's volleyball team suffered setbacks against Lake Erie College (17-25, 20-25, 22-25) and Gannon University (16-25, 13-25, 20-25), both 3-0 final scores, to wrap up play at the Daemen Volleyball Classic presented by Millennium Buffalo. The two-day tournament brought a total of four NCAA Division II women's volleyball teams to Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium for six matches over the last two days. 

Daemen, which scored a season-opening 3-0 victory over the College of Saint Rose last night, ran into a pair of programs coming off 25+ win seasons, including the nightcap against a Gannon team that is favored to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Northwest Division for a third straight season after advancing all the way to the national semifinals in 2017. Today's losses drop Daemen to 1-2 on the young season. Gannon closed out tournament play with a perfect 3-0 mark, while Lake Erie added a win over St. Rose to sit at 2-1.

Gannon's Alexandra Smith (Penfield, N.Y.) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. She powered down a team-high 37 kills over three matches this weekend, including 11 in the tournament finale vs. Daemen. Smith was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill.), a sophomore setter. Beyers notched a match-high 29 assists in the win over Daemen (9.3 assists/set for the weekend) and posted a double-double in an earlier win over Lake Erie (36 assists, 12 digs).

Daemen was represented on the all-tournament team by sophomore middle blocker Tirzah Peters (Amherst, N.Y.) who tied for the team lead with 26 total kills in the three matches. Peters put up a career-best 13 kills in last night's defeat of St. Rose, and was the lone Wildcat with double-figure kills in today's loss to Lake Erie with 10. 

Lake Erie's Alexis Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Hailey Nielsen (Jonesville, Mich.), and St. Rose's Shayna Webber (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) rounded out the all-tournament team selections.

In their first action today, Daemen was out-hit by Lake Erie, both in terms of total kills (LEC: 43; DC: 32) and hitting percentage (LEC: .218; DC: .137). The Wildcats compounded matters by committing 10 service errors. 

Nielsen led the way with 19 kills for the Storm, an affiliate of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Thomas (33 assists, 12 digs) and Crystal Kendroske (Dexter, Mich.) (13 kills, 15 digs) each posted double-doubles for LEC, who also got a team-high 17 digs from Morgan Briggs (Cadillac, Mich.).

Peters' 10 kills came on just 17 attempts, hitting .471 for the match. Junior Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) was next with eight kills, and redshirt junior Courtney Bernard (Lancaster, N.Y.) notched four kills in six attempts. For Bernard, it was her first kills since registering 10 in the 2016 NCAA Division II East Region finals vs. American International College. She missed all of the 2017 season with an injury.

Freshmen Isa McCaffrey (North Royalton, Ohio) and Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) also saw extensive action vs. Lake Erie. McCaffrey tallied all of Daemen's 32 assists in the match, while Logan posted a team-best 15 digs. Sophomore Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) got the start in the libero jersey, and notched 11 digs.

In the nightcap, Gannon stormed out of the gates by hitting .358 as a team over the first two sets. The onslaught was led by the afore-mentioned Smith and freshman outside hitter Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio) who took team-high honors with 12 kills on just 25 attempts, while committing only one error in the match. 

Junior Toni Leitshuh keyed the Golden Knights defense with a match-high 20 digs, helping limit Daemen to an .037 hitting percentage in the match.

Ballou and sophomore middle hitter/right side hitter Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.) split 14 kills to pace the Wildcats in defeat. McCaffrey posted 21 assists, and Greenwood added a team-high 12 digs.

Daemen returns to action with four matches next weekend at the Hall of Fame City Challenge hosted by Malone University in Canton, Ohio. While there, the Wildcats will take on Seton Hill University and the University of Southern Indiana on Friday, August 31, as well as Notre Dame College and Malone on Saturday, September 1.

For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

 
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