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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
meg ballou wvb vs lake erie
1
Roberts Wesleyan RWC 1-6, 0-1 ECC
3
Winner Daemen DAE 6-6, 1-0 ECC
Roberts Wesleyan RWC
1-6, 0-1 ECC
1
Final
3
Daemen DAE
6-6, 1-0 ECC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Roberts Wesleyan RWC 22 27 15 18 (1)
Daemen DAE 25 25 25 25 (3)

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

Wildcats Run Thruway Rivalry Winning Streak To Seven

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's volleyball team opened East Coast Conference play with a 3-1 victory (25-22, 25-27, 25-15, 25-18) over visiting Roberts Wesleyan College before a sizable crowd at Lumsden Gymnasium this evening. The win marked Daemen's seventh straight in the all-time series with their longtime rivals from Rochester.

Daemen evened its overall record at 6-6, running their overall winning streak to four straight matches. It also marked the fourth straight season that the Wildcats have opened conference play at 1-0. On the flip side, Roberts Wesleyan dropped to 1-6 on the season, and 0-1 in league play.

Tirzah Peters (Amherst, N.Y.), the reigning ECC Player of the Week, continued her strong play by leading a balanced Daemen offense with 14 kills and a .440 hitting percentage. Cristina Apostol (Bucharest, Romania) notched 13 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in the middle, while Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) and Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) hammered down 12 kills apiece on the outside. Courtney Bernard (Lancaster, Ohio) chipped in with nine kills on just 19 attempts (.316 hitting percentage).

With so many balls hitting the floor for the Wildcats (63 kills and a .299 hitting percentage for the match), freshman setter Isa McCaffrey (North Royalton, Ohio) played an integral role as she racked up a career-best 55 assists. McCaffrey, who has already garnered Rookie of the Week and Setter of the Week honors from the league, has put up 35 or more assists in five straight matches.

Defensively, the Wildcats limited RWC to just 44 kills and a .221 hitting percentage. The trio of Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.), Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) and Kailey Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) all reached double-figure digs, combining for 33 of the team's 56. 

Kristina Button was the lone RWC player to reach double-figure kills with 12. Lauren Taeko Chase registered 23 assists, and Rachel Holmes chipped in with 13 digs.

After splitting the first two sets, Daemen opened up a 15-6 lead to seize control in the third. The Wildcats snapped a 3-3 tie with a kill by Peters, and with Logan serving the Wildcats rattled off seven straight points. Logan recorded a trio of service aces in the run. RWC got the deficit with five points at 18-13, but kills by Meghan Ballou, Bernard and Apostol, and a service ace from Greenwood helped the Wildcats shut the door.

In the fourth set, Daemen opened up an early five-point advantage (8-3), prompting a Roberts Wesleyan timeout. Again the Redhawks battled back, clawing within three points at 19-16. But again, it was all Daemen late in the set. Peters killed a pair, and Logan and Bernard registered single kills. On match point, Bernard and Apostol combined on a block to send the Lumsden Gymnasium faithful home with a smile.

Daemen takes its four-match winning streak into this weekend's action when they'll return to non-conference play with a pair of neutral site matches being played at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan. The Wildcats meet Urbana University on Friday night, the first meeting between the two since 2006. And on Saturday, the Wildcats meet regional foe Franklin Pierce University.

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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