Women's Volleyball 9/13/2018 1:00:00 PM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Ride Winning Streak Into Neutral Site Contests This Weekend

GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #13
Daemen Wildcats (6-6, 1-0 ECC) vs. Urbana Blue Knights (8-4, 0-0 MEC)
Friday, Sept. 14 | 5:00 p.m.
Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center

LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO

Game #14
Daemen Wildcats (6-6, 1-0 ECC) vs. Franklin Pierce Ravens (3-11, 0-1 NE-10)
Saturday, Sept. 15 | 10:00 AM
Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center

LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO

THE SERVE
Daemen takes a four-match winning streak into a pair of neutral site matches this weekend being hosted by Roberts Wesleyan. The Wildcats first meet Urbana in the teams' first match since 2006. The Wildcats then take on regional foe Franklin Pierce in an early Saturday morning match.

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.

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.

THRUWAY RIVALRY
Daemen's 3-1 win over longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan earlier this week ran their winning streak in the all-time series to seven straight. Tirzah Peters led a balanced offensive attack with 14 kills, while Cristina Apostol (13 kills), Sam Logan (12 kills) and Meghan Ballou (12 kills) also contributed. Freshman setter Isa McCaffrey recorded a career-best 55 assists. The win also got Daemen off to a 1-0 start in ECC play for the fourth consecutive season.

URBANA SCOUTING REPORT
Urbana is a member of the Mountain East Conference, and the Blue Knights are led by head coach Tim Balice who has guided the team to a 60-52 record in his four seasons to date. The Blue Knights are coming off a 19-17 campaign in 2017, finishing fifth in the MEC with a 10-6 league record and advancing to the MEC Tournament semifinals. With seven returning players on the the roster, the Blue Knights were picked sixth (out of 12) in the MEC preseason poll. Headlining the team's returners is sophomore middle hitter Kaitlin Trace who earned second team All-MEC honors last season after leading the team in kills (263). Trace's .299 hitting percentage also ranked third in the MEC. Sophomore setter Anna Davis, an honorable mention All-MEC selection last season, also returns after ranking fifth in the MEC with 775 assists. Urbana is off to an 8-4 start this season, and they'll take a seven-match winning streak into this weekend's action. Newcomer Hannah Delor has made an immediate impact by averaging a team-best 3.19 kills per set. Senior Madison Davis (2.98 kills/set) and Trace (2.72 kills/set) have also produced offensively.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. URBANA
Series Record: 2-1
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: Urbana 3, Daemen 2 | Nov. 10, 2006 | Rochester, N.Y.

FRANKLIN PIERCE SCOUTING REPORT
Franklin Pierce is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. The Ravens are led by veteran head coach Stephanie Dragan who is now in her 10th season with the program, and her 19th as a collegiate head coach overall. Dragan owns a 309-274 career record, including previous head coaching stops at Centre and Agnes Scott, with 120 of those wins coming at FPU. The Ravens are looking to rebound after going 8-17 overall and 6-8 in NE-10 play last season. Just five players return to a roster that includes seven freshmen. Junior middle blocker Abigail Garnihart (113 kills, 43 blocks in 2017) and senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Brittney Carias (110 kills, 328 digs in 2017) headline the team's returners. The Ravens, who were picked 11th (out of 15) in the NE-10 preseason poll, are off to a 3-8 start this season. They'll take a four-match losing streak into this weekend's action at Roberts Wesleyan. Newcomer Cierra Dolan has been the focal point of the offense thus far, racking up a team-best 125 kills.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. FRANKLIN PIERCE
Series Record: 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Franklin Pierce 2 | Oct. 14, 2016 | Rindge, N.H.

ON THE HORIZON
A tough three-match home-stand sits on the horizon as the Wildcats host NYIT (Sept. 21), LIU Post (Sept. 22) and New Haven (Sept. 23) over three successive days next weekend. The group of opponents combined to go 79-23 in 2017. New Haven is the defending Northeast-10 Conference and NCAA Division II East Region champion.

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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