Wildcats Host Molloy To Start Second Round Of ECC Slate

Daemen Students, Children From Community Invited To Come In Costume For Halloween Bash

10/24/2019 11:30:00 AM

MATCH INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #21
Daemen Wildcats (13-7, 3-2 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (17-4, 5-0 ECC)
Friday, Oct. 25 | 6 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via ECC Network)

THE SERVE
Daemen starts the second round of their East Coast Conference schedule by hosting league-leading Molloy at Lumsden Gymnasium on Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a grueling 3-2 loss to St. Anselm this past Saturday - their third five-set loss this season. Molloy comes into the contest having won nine of their last 10 matches dating back to late September. The Lions got through the first round of their conference slate unscathed, and hold a one-game lead over second-place Bridgeport (19-5, 5-1 ECC). Molloy's success this season includes a 3-0 defeat of Daemen on Sept. 29 in the teams' first meeting since the Wildcats scored a 3-1 win in the final round of the 2018 ECC Championships. Daemen and Molloy were tied for first in the ECC preseason poll released in late August. The Wildcats need a win Friday to keep their hopes of earning another No. 1 seed to the conference tournament alive. Daemen is 8-0 all-time in home matches against Molloy.

HALLOWEEN BASH
Friday's match features the annual Halloween Bash promotion. Spectators are encouraged to come to the match dressed in their Halloween costumes. There will be prizes given out to both Daemen students and community members' children who come in costume. The Daemen Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is also sponsoring trick-or-treating for children around the athletic complex offices.

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 70-42 overall record, a 36-11 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 junior Allison Post (188 kills, 2.89 kills/set) and sophomore Sam Logan (158 kills, 2.39 kills/set). Add in junior Jenn Heritz's production (2.32 kills/set) and the Wildcats boast three of the top 12 hitters in the ECC, in terms of kills per set. Heritz and Logan led the way in a recent dismantling of Roberts Wesleyan, combining for 22 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Although their kill numbers are slightly down from last season, seniors Meghan Ballou (1.96 kills/set) and Courtney Bernard (1.67 kills/set) are among the most efficient hitters in the league. Ballou is attacking a .330 clip, ranking third among the league leaders. Bernard ranks sixth with a .282 hitting percentage.

SETTING THE TABLE
Sophomore setter Hannah McKee has come on of late to lead the Wildcats' setters. She's averaged 8.56 assists per set over the last seven matches, topping 25 total assists four times in that span. McKee, who is in her first season with the Wildcats after transferring last spring from St. Martin's (Wash.), recorded a career-high 52 assists in the Wildcats' 3-2 loss to St. Anselm on Oct. 19. She heads into this weekend ranking fourth among the ECC leaders in assists per set (7.45). Daemen's setting group also includes sophomore Isa McCaffrey, the 2018 ECC Co-Setter of the Year who recorded a league-best 1,097 assists last season. She became 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 50 career matches, and she recently surpassed Chelsea Turcer for 10th place on Daemen's all-time assists list. Junior Georgia Wicker has also also seen action. She recorded 10+ assists in nine of the first 13 matches this season.

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 317 digs over the first 20 matches. She currently ranks third in digs per set (4.53) and fourth in total digs 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 47 of the last 53 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. Greenwood recorded the 1,000th dig of her career in a 3-0 loss at Bridgeport on Oct. 12. In 75 career matches, the junior defensive specialist has totaled 1,059 digs, good for a 3.95 digs-per-set average.

ECC AND EAST REGION DOMINANCE
Daemen has won 16 of their last 19 regular season ECC contests, and the Wildcats hold a 10-game winning streak in home conference matches. Since the start of the 2016 season, Daemen owns a 36-11 conference record. In the same time span, the Wildcats are 58-22 in all matches against East Region opponents (.725 winning percentage).

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Molloy has really turned things around since the hiring of head coach Kevin DesLauriers in 2017. The Lions had posted 18 consecutive losing seasons, but DesLauriers has guided them to back-to-back 20-win seasons and two NCAA tournament berths. The Lions have won more than 75 percent of their contests since the start of the 2017 season, posting a 63-19 record. Much is expected of them again this season as they were tied for first (with Daemen) in the ECC preseason poll. The Lions bring back 13 players from their 2018 team, including four who earned all-conference recognition. That group is undoubtedly headlined by Kacey Affrunti, the 2019 ECC Preseason Player of the Year. The junior middle hitter currently ranks second in kills per set (3.30) and fourth in hitting percentage (.301) among the ECC leaders. Fellow first-team All-ECC pick Carly Banks also returns. She's posting 3.13 kills per set from her outside hitter position so far this season, ranking fourth in the ECC. Sophia Smith, who shared Setter of the Year honors with Daemen's Isa McCaffrey last season, is averaging a league-best 9.94 assists per set, and senior defensive specalist Jessica Fischetti leads the ECC in digs per set (5.10).

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MOLLOY
Series Record: 11-4
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: Molloy 3, Daemen 0 | Sept. 29, 2019 | at Rockville Centre, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen is idle until a weekend (Nov. 2-3) road trip places them in the New York City metro area to face Queens and Mercy in East Coast Conference contests.

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