Women's Volleyball Plays A Pair In Connecticut This Weekend

Wildcats Visit Bridgeport For Key ECC Match Saturday, Close Trip Sunday At Southern Connecticut State

10/10/2019 11:00:00 AM

MATCH INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #17
Daemen Wildcats (11-5, 2-1 ECC) vs. Bridgeport Purple Knights (15-4, 2-1 ECC)
Saturday, Oct. 12 | 12 p.m.
Bridgeport, Conn. | Hubbell Gymnasium
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via ECC Network)

Game #18
Daemen Wildcats vs. Southern Connecticut State Owls (8-9, 1-2 NE-10)
Sunday, Oct. 13 | 12 p.m.
New Haven, Conn. | Pelz Gymnasium
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via Stretch Internet)

THE SERVE
Daemen heads to The Constitution State for a pair of matches this weekend, beginning with a key East Coast Conference matchup Saturday at Bridgeport. That encounter features teams expected to be in contention for conference tournament berths next month. The Wildcats and Purple Knights head into the meeting tied for second in the ECC standings with 2-1 records. They'll be meeting for the first time since a 3-1 Daemen win in the 2018 ECC Championship semifinals, one of three head-to-head wins for the Wildcats last season. Daemen closes the trip by facing Southern Connecticut State, one of their seven matches this season against teams that made NCAA tournament appearances in 2018; the Wildcats are 0-3 so far this season against NCAA tournament teams.

ALL ABOUT ALBANO
Since taking the reins of the program in 2016, Stephanie Albano has built the Wildcats into one of the top teams in the East Coast Conference and NCAA Division II East Region. She's guided the program to a 68-40 overall record, a 35-10 mark in conference play, two ECC regular season championships, two NCAA tournament berths and an ECC tournament crown. Albano is a two-time ECC Coach of the Year, the 2016 NCAA Division II East Region Coach of the Year and past recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 Award. Albano's ascent into coaching came after a stellar prep and collegiate playing career. She was named the Gatorade New York State Player of the Year following her senior season at Lancaster High School, and went on play collegiately at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Before becoming Daemen's associate head coach in 2015, Albano held assistant coaching positions at Canisius, Medaille and Buffalo.

MAGICAL YEAR
The 2018 season was one for the ages as the Wildcats posted a 21-11 overall record, the 11th 20-win season in program history and their second as an NCAA Division II team. It included a run to the program's second ECC regular season championship as the Wildcats went 13-1 in conference play. Daemen opened the conference slate with nine straight wins. A 3-2 setback at New York Tech on Oct. 21 snapped the streak, but the Wildcats responded with four consecutive wins to close the regular season. They clinched the outright regular season league championship with a 3-2 win at Mercy on Nov. 3, an accomplishment that included the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the ECC tournament. After falling short of the ECC tournament crown in 2016, the Wildcats sealed the deal this time around, defeating No. 4 Bridgeport (3-1) and No. 2 Molloy (3-1) at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats earned the No. 3 seed in the East Region Championship portion of the NCAA tournament, but their magical season came to an end following a 3-0 loss to eventual regional champion American International.

LIFE IN THE BALANCE
The Wildcats featured a balanced offensive attack in 2018 with six players averaging better than 2.0 kills per set. Five of those players return to the roster in 2019, and balance has again been a staple for the Wildcats as eight players are averaging at least 1.0 kill per set. Five players have recorded at least 10 kills in a match this season, led by juniors Allison Post and Jenn Heritz who have each done so six times. Post leads the team in total kills (134), and kills per set (2.68). Add in sophomore Sam Logan's production (2.24 kills per set) and the Wildcats boast three of the top 12 hitters in the ECC, in terms of kills per set. Although their kill numbers are slightly down from last season, seniors Meghan Ballou (1.95 kills/set) and Courtney Bernard (1.71 kills/set) are among the most efficient hitters in the league. Ballou is attacking a .332 clip, ranking third among the league leaders. Bernard ranks seventh with a .282 hitting percentage.

SETTING THE TABLE
Sophomore setter Isa McCaffrey returns after being named the ECC Co-Setter of the Year in 2018. The Ohio native recorded an ECC-best 1,097 assists last season, becoming just the seventh player in team history to reach 1,000 in a single season. McCaffrey has posted at least 10 assists in 45 of 48 career matches, and she recently surpassed Chelsea Turcer for 10th place on Daemen's all-time assists list. She currently ranks sixth among the ECC leaders in assists per set (5.21). McCaffrey has gotten help running the offense from veteran Georgia Wicker and newcomer Hannah McKee. Wicker recorded 10+ assists in nine of the first 13 matches this season. McKee, who transferred last spring from St. Martin's (Wash.), has come on of late, averaging 5.70 assists per set over the last three matches. She posted a career-high 29 assists in a 3-0 win over Queens on Oct. 5.

GETTING GREENY
With so much of the attention focused on Daemen's balanced offense in 2018, Ali Greenwood flew a bit under the radar as she anchored the Wildcat defense as its libero. Her contributions didn't go unnoticed by coaches and teammates however, and she was named the team's MVP after recording 507 digs, third-best among all ECC players. She has already set the tone again defensively in 2019, totaling a team-high 245 digs over the first 16 matches. She currently ranks third in digs per set (4.45) and fourth in total digs (245) among the ECC leaders. Her performance at the season-opening Daemen Volleyball Invitational led to a selection on the all-tournament team as well as ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Greenwood has recorded 10+ digs in 43 of the last 49 matches dating back to her freshmen season. She posted 32 digs in Daemen's five-set win over Urbana earlier this season, one shy of her career-high. In 71 career matches, the junior defensive specialist has totaled 987 digs.

ECC AND EAST REGION DOMINANCE
After dropping road matches to conference rival Molloy and regional foe Adelphi near the end of September, the Wildcats returned to their dominant ways against conference and regional opponents last weekend with consecutive 3-0 defeats of Mercy and Queens. Daemen has won 15 of their last 17 regular season ECC contests, and the Wildcats hold a nine-game winning streak in home conference matches. Since the start of the 2016 season, Daemen owns a 35-10 conference record. In the same time span, the Wildcats are 56-20 in all matches against East Region opponents (.737 winning percentage).

BRIDGEPORT SCOUTING REPORT
Bridgeport has gotten off to a fantastic start this season with 15 wins in 19 contests, already eclipsing their win total from all of 2018 when they went 14-13. Their losses thus far have come against ECC-leading Molloy, as well as three of the top four teams in the Northeast-10 Conference standings: Adelphi, St. Anselm and most recently New Haven (3-0 loss earlier this week). Head coach Gary Mullin, now in his sixth season with the program, has led the Purple Knights to a 108-58 record to date. He recorded his 100th win earlier this season when UB downed Bentley on Sept. 17. The Purple Knights feature a veteran roster with 11 returning players from 2018, and just two freshmen. The Purple Knights feature four players averaging better than 2.4 kills per set, led by senior outside hitter Amanda Hennemann. The Brazilian native has recorded an ECC-leading 211 kills, and she ranks third among the league leaders in kills per set (3.35). Senior right-side hitter Emily Burford, a second-team All-ECC pick last season, is contributing 2.65 kills per set. Sophomore middle blocker Amanda Keller leads the ECC in hitting percentage (.389) and is averaging 2.53 kills and 0.60 blocks per set. Sophomore setter Carly Killorin is running the ECC's top offense, and is averaging a league-best 10.51 assists per set. As a team, Bridgeport leads the ECC in kills per set (13.35), hitting percentage (.231), assists per set (12.48), service aces per set (2.69) and digs per set (18.08).

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. BRIDGEPORT
Series Record: 6-7
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Bridgeport 1 | Nov. 9, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y. | ECC Championship Semifinals

SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE SCOUTING REPORT
SCSU has made back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament, their first appearances in program history, posting a combined 45-25 record during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Veteran head coach Lisa Barbaro has led the Owls to a 239-260 overall record since taking over in 2004. The program's success has included five 20-win seasons under Barbaro's direction. The Owls return nine players from their 2018 team, but have been led offensively by a trio of newcomers. Freshman outside hitter Ella White is producing a team-high 2.54 kills per set, while junior college transfers Abigail Epstein (2.30 kills/set) and Ariel Letcher (2.36 kills/set) have also contributed. Senior setter Tea Carter ranks fifth among the NE-10 leaders in assists per set (9.06). The Owls, who play host to St. Rose on Saturday, are coming off a 3-0 loss to Bridgeport earlier this week. They've dropped eight of their last nine matches, and head into the weekend looking to snap a three-match losing streak.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE
Series Record: 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, SCSU 0 | Oct. 30, 2016 | at Old Westbury, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium next Wednesday, Oct. 16 when they host longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan.

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