Sophomore Ali Greenwood leads Daemen with 198 digs this season Women's Volleyball 9/20/2018 11:45:00 AM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications Wildcats Face Stiff Tests In Three-Match Homestand This Weekend GAME INFORMATION & LINKS Game #15 Daemen Wildcats (7-7, 1-0 ECC) vs. NYIT Bears (8-6, 0-1 ECC) Friday, Sept. 21 | 6:00 p.m. Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO Game #16 Daemen Wildcats (7-7, 1-0 ECC) vs. LIU Post Pioneers (9-5, 1-0 ECC) Saturday, Sept. 22 | 1:00 PM Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO Game #17 Daemen Wildcats (7-7, 1-0 ECC) vs. New Haven Chargers (11-3, 3-0 NE-10) Sunday, Sept. 23 | 12:00 PM Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO THE SERVE Daemen hosts three matches in as many days this weekend, and will face stiff tests in each of them. Their opponents - ECC members NYIT and LIU Post, and NE-10 member New Haven - have combined to go 107-37 since the start of the 2017 season. The two league matches come against teams picked ahead of Daemen in the ECC preseason poll; NYIT and LIU Post were tied for second in the poll. The non-conference match Sunday comes against a New Haven team that is the defending NE-10 Conference and NCAA Division II East Region champion. 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 ed 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. 5 OUT OF 6 After some early season struggles, the Wildcats have righted the ship by winning five of their last six matches. They've done so by being more efficient in their attacks. Through the first eight matches of the season, the Wildcats were averaging 11.75 kills per set and attacking at a .151 clip. Over the last six matches, they've increased their kills per set to 14.5, and their hitting percentage to .277. The team's only recent loss was a five-set decision against streaking Urbana which has won 10 straight matches. BALANCED ATTACK The Wildcats have put together arguably the most balanced offensive attack among all ECC teams so far this season. Five players are presently averaging better than 2.0 kills per set - Jenn Heritz (2.76), Tirzah Peters (2.73), Cristina Apostol (2.60), Meghan Ballou (2.59) and Sam Logan (2.32). All five players rank in the top 14 in the league, while Heritz, Peters, Apostol and Ballou also rank in the top 10. Only defending ECC champion Molloy boasts as many as four players averaging better than 2.0 kills per set, and no other ECC team has more than three. THRUWAY RIVALRY Daemen's 3-1 win over longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 12 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. BALLING BALLOU Junior middle/outside hitter Meghan Ballou had her most productive week of the season from Sept. 10-16, averaging a team-best 3.58 kills per set over three matches which earned her ECC Player of the Week honors. Ballou, a second team All-ECC selection last season, opened the week with 12 kills on 28 attempts in a win over Roberts Wesleyan, and she followed up with a season-high 17 kills in a five-set loss to Urbana, two shy of her career-best effort. She ended the week with 14 kills in a win over Franklin Pierce. The production came at a critical time as the Wildcats cope with the loss of Jenn Heritz who has been out with an injury. For the season, Ballou ranks among the league leaders in total kills (114 - 4th), total attacks (313 - 5th) and kills per set (2.59 - 10th). UPPER TIRZAH Sophomore middle hitter Tirzah Peters has made an early case to be considered the ECC's most improved player this season. After being slowed by injuries as a freshman, resulting in just 16 matches played, Peters has been a consistent force in 2018. She presently ranks among the league leaders in total kills (123 - 3rd) and kills per set (2.73 - 7th), despite ranking 17th in total attacks (255). Her .294 hitting percentage ranks second on the team behind fellow middle hitter Cristina Apostol (.303) and seventh in the conference. Peters has reached double figure kills in six matches this season, including a career-high 15 in a win over defending Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion Caldwell on Sept. 9. She was named the ECC Player of the Week for Sept. 3-9 after averaging 3.73 kills per set on a .577 hitting percentage over four matches. She was the first Daemen player to earn ECC Player of the Week honors since Amber Drzymala did so in the final week of the 2016 regular season. ISA'S IMMEDIATE IMPACT Setter Isa McCaffrey has made an immediate impact in her freshman season. The 5-foot-8 Ohio native has racked up 518 assists, a total which presently leads the ECC and ranks 25th nationally. McCaffrey (10.57 assists/set) and Molloy's Sophia Smith (10.97) are the only players in the league to be averaging better than 10.0 assists per set. The last Daemen player to average better than 10.0 assists per set for an entire season was Kristie Martzolf (11.99) during the 2004 season. McCaffrey has garnered honors from the ECC in the last three successive weeks. She was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for Aug. 27-Sept. 2 after also being named to the All-Tournament Team at the Hall of Fame City Challenge. She was later named the ECC Setter of the Week for Sept. 3-9 and Sept. 10-16. BERNARD BATTLES BACK After missing the entire 2017 season with an injury that threatened to end her career, redshirt junior Courtney Bernard has battled her way back into the lineup in 2018. Bernard, who hit .343 and averaged 2.32 kills per set in 2016, has appeared in 13 of the team's 14 matches while making five starts so far this season. She's hitting .289 and contributing 1.70 kills per set. GET DEFENSIVE A trio of experienced defensive specialists have played an important role for the Wildcats this season. Kailey Ballou, Ali Greenwood and Georgia Wicker lead a Wildcat defense that presently ranks third in the ECC by averaging 15.94 digs per set. Ballou, the team's lone senior, is closing in on reaching 900 digs for her career (862 presently). Both Greenwood and Wicker have spent time as the Wildcats' primary libero. Greenwood leads the team and ranks fifth in the league with her 4.04 digs-per-set average, while Wicker is contributing 2.82 digs per set. NYIT SCOUTING REPORT NYIT is led by longtime head coach Gail Wasmus who has been with the program for 32 of its 41-year history. She headed the Bears from 1976-86 and led them to a 213-120 record, then returned in 1997 and has since led them to a 411-292 record over 21 seasons. All together, Wasmus holds a 632-418 record at NYIT, and she's guided the team to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bears have won at least 25 matches in four of the last five seasons, including a 25-9 campaign in 2017. Gone from that team are first team All-ECC picks Karolina Moderova and Allison Fowler (also the ECC Setter of the Year), but the Bears do return six players, including first team All-ECC selection Tiffany Verni. After being picked in a tie for second place in the ECC preseason poll, the Bears have opened the 2018 season with eight wins in their first 14 contests, but are just 2-5 since Sept. 8. Verni, a 5-foot-8 senior outside hitter who was named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is the only player in the league averaging better than 4.0 kills per set (4.25); she also leads the league in total kills (221) and total attacks (667). Freshman defensive specialist Jamie Yonker has made an immediate impact by averaging a league-best 6.13 digs per set; she has twice been named the league's Defensive Player of the Week this season. ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NYIT Series Record: 3-9 Streak: Lost 3 Last Meeting: NYIT 3, Daemen 2 | Nov. 4, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y. LIU POST SCOUTING REPORT LIU Post is under the direction of first-year head coach Stephanie Sheehan who was promoted to the position after serving as an assistant coach in 2017. Sheehan is no stranger to NCAA Division II volleyball having been a three-time All-NE-10 selection as a player at Merrimack, and also previously serving as an assistant coach at Molloy. Sheehan takes over an LIU Post program that has finished with a .500 record or better in 13 consecutive seasons, and the team's roster features 16 returners from their 2017 team that finished 28-6 overall and 12-2 in ECC play while also advancing to the NCAA Division II East Regional. The group's returners is undoubtedly headlined by senior outside hitter Rachel Londot, the 2017 ECC Player of the Year. Junior setter Kassie Akouri-Tejedor (second team All-ECC) and junior middle hitter Lea Brady (honorable mention All-ECC) also return. The Pioneers (9-5), who were picked in a tie for second place in the ECC preseason poll, head into the weekend having won three of their last four matches. They'll face Roberts Wesleyan on Friday before heading further west for their meeting with Daemen on Saturday. Londot has paced the Pioneer offense with 141 total kills which ranks second in the league; she also ranks fifth in kills per set (2.82) and second in service aces per set (0.54). ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. LIU POST Series Record: 5-6 Streak: Lost 2 Last Meeting: LIU Post 3, Daemen 0 | Nov. 5, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y. NEW HAVEN SCOUTING REPORT New Haven is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Chargers are led by first-year head Ana Paula Pego who took over following four years as an assistant to Robin Salters. Pego assumes control of one of the most successful NCAA Division II programs in the East Region; the Chargers entered the 2018 season with an all-time winning percentage of .766 over the last 42 seasons. New Haven has advanced to the NCAA Division II East Regional in 12 consecutive seasons, winning four regional titles in that span. UNH is the defending NE-10 Conference and East Region champion, and they've been picked to repeat as NE-10 champs via the league's preseason poll. The Chargers return seven players from their 2017 roster, including first team All-NE-10 setter Kristine Rios and second team All-NE-10 outside hitter Kali Greathead. UNH (11-3) takes a four-match winning streak into a stretch that includes three matches in four days: vs. St. Rose (Sept. 20), at Le Moyne (Sept. 22), at Daemen (Sept. 23). Junior right side hitter Mallory Nowicki has been the team's top offensive player thus far, totaling 159 kills (5th in NE-10) on a .349 hitting percentage (4th in NE-10). ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NEW HAVEN Series Record: 1-1 Streak: Won 1 Last Meeting: Daemen 3, New Haven 0 | Dec. 2, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y. | NCAA Div. II East Regional Semifinals DID YOU KNOW? * When New Haven visits Lumsden Gym this Sunday, it'll mark the third straight season that Daemen has hosted the defending East Region champion; 2015 champ NYIT visited as part of the regular ECC schedule on Oct. 1, 2016 (NYIT won 3-2; NYIT also met Daemen at Lumsden Gym in the 2016 ECC Tournament finals, winning 3-1); 2016 champ American International visited as part of a tri-match on Oct. 28, 2017, defeating Daemen 3-2 * Daemen is 48-26 in all regional matches since the start of the 2016 season; that includes a 16-7 mark in regular season, non-conference regional matches ON THE HORIZON Daemen's first road trip of the conference season has them visiting defending ECC champ Molloy (Sept. 29) and Queens (Sept. 30). Print Friendly Version Players Mentioned #13 Amber Drzymala OH 5' 9" Senior #15 Cristina Apostol MB 6' 2" Sophomore #1 Kailey Ballou L 5' 7" Junior #2 Meghan Ballou OH 6' 0" Sophomore #9 Courtney Bernard MB/RS 6' 0" Junior #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 Players Mentioned #13 Amber Drzymala 5' 9" Senior OH #15 Cristina Apostol 6' 2" Sophomore MB #1 Kailey Ballou 5' 7" Junior L #2 Meghan Ballou 6' 0" Sophomore OH #9 Courtney Bernard 6' 0" Junior MB/RS #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
