AMHERST, N.Y. - Molloy College remained unbeaten in league play following a 3-2 victory over Daemen College here tonight in East Coast Conference women's volleyball action. Molloy, which has now won 10 of its last 11 matches, improved to 18-5 overall and 6-0 in the ECC. Daemen dropped to 13-8 overall and 3-3 in the ECC.

Daemen took the first set (27-25), before the Lions won the next two (25-22, 25-18). Daemen forced a fifth and deciding set following a 28-26 win in set four, but the Lions secured the match with a 15-12 win in set five.

HIGHLIGHTS

• A late rally by Daemen lifted the Wildcats to a 27-25 win in set one. Molloy held an early 5-4 lead when the visitors put together a 7-2 run and opened up a 12-6 lead. The Molloy lead was seven points (21-14) when the Wildcats scored seven of the next eight points to pull to within a point (22-21). Molloy had set point at 24-22, but Daemen scored five of the next six points to secure the win. Back-to-back kills by senior Courtney Bernard (Lancaster, Ohio) and junior Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.) capped the late rally.
• Set two was a tense affair in which neither team led by more than three points throughout the match. The set was tied at 12-12 when the Lions put together an 8-5 run to take a 20-17 lead. Daemen cut the lead to a point twice down the stretch, but the hosts could get no closer.
• Set three saw the Wildcats jump out to a 5-1 lead, only to have the Lions answer with a 6-2 run that tied the set at 7-7. That would be the first of 10 ties in the set. The 10th and final tie came at 17-17, at which point the Lions took control with six unanswered points.
• Daemen held an 11-10 lead in set four when the Wildcats registered five of the next seven points to take a 16-12 lead. The hosts took their largest lead of the set, 18-13, following a kill by redshirt freshman Ali Cousins (Eldred, Pa.), only to have the Lions respond with a 6-1 spurt that tied the set at 19-19. Daemen had set point at 24-22, 24-23, 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26 before a kill by senior Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) earned Daemen the 28-26 win.
• Set five was back and fourth (11 ties, seven lead changes) from the start until three unanswered points gave Molloy a 14-11 lead. Daemen scored the next point, but Molloy closed out the match following a Daemen attack error.
• Bernard (17 kills) and Heritz (15 kills) paced a balanced Daemen attack, while junior Allison Post (Windsor, Calf.) added 13 kills and Ballou chipped in 10.
• Sophomore Hannah McKee (East Highland, Calf.) registered over 50 assists for the second-straight match, as she finished with career-high 58 assists and also contributed 13 digs. McKee handed out 52 assists in a 3-2 loss to Saint Anselm last weekend.
• Junior Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) chipped in a team-high 22 digs and has now reached double digits in digs in 11- straight matches.
• Senior Hailey Wehr, junior Kacey Affrunti and redshirt senior Carly Banks each registered 12 kills for Molloy. Senior Jessica Fischetti added 27 digs, while classmate Sophia Smith totaled 45 assists and 11 digs. 

HEAD COACH STEPHANIE ALBANO POST-GAME COMMENTS
"Courtney Bernard played the best I have ever seen her play. Her effort was unbelievable and if she can bring 75-percent of that effort moving forward we are going to be in good shape. Ali Cousins also came in off the bench and played with no fear. She found ways to score and I was really proud of the way she played tonight."

GAME NOTES

• Daemen held a 74-52 advantage in total kills, but the Wildcats committed 40 attack errors and finished with a .160 hitting percentage. The Lions committed just 20 attack errors and finished with a .178 hitting percentage. Daemen also held a 70-47 edge in assists, while Molloy held a 16-9 edge in blocks.
• Molloy, which posted a 3-0 win over Daemen earlier this year in Rockville Centre, N.Y., has swept the regular-season series from the Wildcats for the first time since Daemen joined the ECC in 2013.

UP NEXT
Daemen is idle until next weekend (Nov. 2-3) when they travel to the New York City metro area to face Queens College and Mercy College in East Coast Conference contests.

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. 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.