Women's Volleyball 9/11/2018 11:30:00 AM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Begin ECC Title Pursuit Wednesday

GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #12
Daemen Wildcats (5-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (1-5, 0-0 ECC)
Wednesday, Sept. 12 | 7:00 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO

THE SERVE
Daemen opens East Coast Conference play by hosting longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan. The Wildcats own a 27-21 lead in the all-time series and have won six straight meetings with the Redhawks. Daemen is coming off a 3-1 weekend at the Post Eagles Invitational, scoring victories over regional opponents Bentley, Caldwell and Post. The results last weekend push Daemen's record to 46-26 in all regional matches (includes ECC matches) since the start of the 2015 season.

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.

3-1 IN CONNECTICUT
Last weekend, the Wildcats posted a 3-1 record at the Post Eagles Invitational in Waterbury, Conn. After suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to regional rival Le Moyne, the Wildcats rebounded for consecutive 3-0 victories over Bentley, Caldwell and Post.

WEEKLY HONORS
Sophomore middle hitter Tirzah Peters and freshman setter Isa McCaffrey each picked up weekly honors from the ECC after their performances at last weekend's Post Eagles Invitational. Peters was named the ECC Player of the Week after averaging a team-best 3.73 kills per set and hitting .508 over the four matches. She notched a career-high 13 kills in Saturday's win over Bentley, then surpassed that with 15 kills in Sunday's win over Caldwell. McCaffrey was named the ECC Setter of the Week after averaging 10.86 assists per set over the weekend. It marked the second straight week that McCaffrey has been honored by the conference after she was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the period of Aug. 27 to Sept. 2.

ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Roberts Wesleyan returns 11 players from their 2017 team that went 2-30 overall and 2-12 in ECC play. Among the returners is senior Kristina Button (6-0, MH/OH) who finished second on the team with 156 kills last season. Sophomore Grace Detwiler (6-0, OH) also returns after posting 141 kills as a rookie last season. Defensively, the Redhawks return senior libero Shelby Strausbaugh who led the team with 360 digs. The Redhawks have been picked eighth in the ECC preseason poll, and they've opened the 2018 season with one win over the first six contests. RWC snapped a five-game slide a 3-2 victory over Nyack this past Saturday. Junior Rachel Holms (5-9, DS/OH) has paced the Redhawks offense thus far with 49 kills, good for a 2.23 kills-per-set average. Freshman Lauren Taeko Chase (5-5, DS/S) has seen the bulk of the action at setter, posting a team-best 104 assists. The Redhawks are led by fourth-year head coach Doug Porterfield.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ROBERTS WESLEYAN
Series Record: 27-21
Streak: Won 6
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Roberts Wesleyan 0 | Oct. 28, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen will head to Roberts Wesleyan for a pair of neutral site matches at the Voller Athletic Center as the Wildcats take on Urbana (Friday, Sept. 14) and Franklin Pierce (Saturday, Sept. 15).

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#11 Katie McKrell: S; 5' 8"; Senior

#3 Ali Greenwood: DS; 5' 6"; Freshman

#5 Jenn Heritz: MH; 6' 0"; Freshman

#10 Georgia Wicker: DS; 5' 3"; Freshman

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

#11 Isa McCaffrey: S; 5' 8"; Freshman

#6 Sam Logan: OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#11 Katie McKrell
: 5' 8"; Senior
: S

#3 Ali Greenwood
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: DS

#5 Jenn Heritz
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MH

#10 Georgia Wicker
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: DS

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

#11 Isa McCaffrey
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: S

#6 Sam Logan
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OH