Women's Volleyball Set For Cal Vulcan Invitational

9/12/2019 12:30:00 PM

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Cal Vulcan Invitational

Friday, Sept. 13
12 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats (2-1, 0-0 ECC) vs. West Liberty Hilltoppers (1-3, 0-0 MEC)
6 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats vs. California (Pa.) Vulcans (1-3, 0-0 PSAC)

Saturday, Sept. 14
1 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats vs. Davis & Elkins Senators (1-2, 0-0 MEC)
4 p.m. - Daemen Wildcats vs. Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks (0-4, 0-0 PSAC)

TOURNAMENT LINKS
Live Stats (match vs. Cal only)

THE SERVE
After posting a solid 2-1 record at the season-opening Daemen Volleyball Invitational last weekend, the Daemen Wildcats return to tournament action this weekend at the Cal Vulcan Invitational. The Wildcats will play four matches over the two-day tournament, two of which come Friday against teams (West Liberty and California) coming off 20-win campaigns in 2018. The Wildcats will close out their involvement in the tournament by facing Davis & Elkins and Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon. It'll mark Daemen's second trip to the Cal Vulcan Invitational in the last three seasons. The Wildcats will be looking for a better showing than their previous go-round in 2017 when they dropped four straight matches.

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. Over her first three seasons, Albano has guided Daemen to a 57-35 overall record, a 33-9 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: junior outside hitter Allison Post (2.78 kills/set), senior middle blocker/right side Meghan Ballou (2.60), junior middle blocker Tirzah Peters (2.45), sophomore outside hitter Sam Logan (2.34) and junior outside hitter/right side Jenn Heritz (2.33). Post really came on strong during the second half of last season, reaching double-figure kills in six of the last eight matches. Ballou earned second-team All-ECC honors and led the team in total kills (268) for the second straight season, and she entered her final collegiate season 250 kills shy of 1,000 for her career. Peters was a first-team All-ECC pick, finishing eighth in the league in hitting percentage (.255). Logan led the team and ranked fifth in the league in total attacks (839). Heritz, who was the team's MVP in 2017, produced despite being limited to just 20 matches and 54 sets due to injury.

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 35 consecutive matches, and stands 103 assists shy of moving into the top-10 in team history. She'll get help running the offense from veteran Georgia Wicker and newcomer Hannah McKee. Wicker has recorded 10+ assists in 10 consecutive matches dating back to last season, including a career-high 31 in the 2018 ECC tournament semifinals. McKee will see her first action with the Wildcats after transferring last spring from St. Martin's (Wash.) where she totaled 139 assists in 18 matches.

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 73 digs over the first three matches leading to her selection for the Daemen Volleyball Invitational all-tournament team as well as ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Greenwood recorded 32 digs in a five-set win over Urbana, one shy of her career-high. In 58 career matches, the junior defensive specialist has totaled 816 career digs.

BERNARD BATTLES BACK
After missing the entire 2017 season with an injury that threatened to end her career, redshirt junior Courtney Bernard battled her way back into the lineup in 2018. Bernard, who hit .343 and averaged 2.32 kills per set in 2016, appeared in 31 of the team's 32 matches while making 16 starts last season. She contributed a .260 hitting percentage and totaled 176 kills (1.83 kills/set). She has established new career-highs for sets played (96), kills, attack attempts (430), blocks (49) and digs (51), and was arguably Daemen's best player during the ECC tournament when she averaged 3.12 kills and 1.38 blocks per set while leading the Wildcats to wins over Bridgeport and Molloy.

ALL-AMERICAN ADDITION
The Wildcats' 2019 recruiting class is headlined by 5-foot-10 middle blocker Loren Alberts who was an honorable mention selection to the AVCA Under Armour High School All-America Team last fall while completing her scholastic career at Huntley (Ill.) High School. Alberts averaged 2.2 kills and 3.2 blocks per set as a high school senior, and led Huntley on a 21-match winning streak.

POST-ING UP
Junior outside hitter Allison Post has picked up right where she left off in 2018. The California native led the Wildcats in kills in each of the team's first three matches, averaging 3.69 kills per set. She was named to the all-tournament team at the Daemen Volleyball Invitational, and has now recorded 10 or more kills in nine of the last 11 matches dating back to last season. Her 21 kills in a five-set win over Urbana was one shy of her career-high for a single match. She added 10 digs against the Blue Knights to record fourth double-double of her career.

WEST LIBERTY SCOUTING REPORT
West Liberty is a member of the Mountain East Conference, and the Hilltoppers are led by head coach Kayla Mull who in the midst of her eighth season with the program. The program's all-time leader in coaching wins, Mull has led the Hilltoppers to a 120-113 record in her tenure to date. Gone from last season is first-team All-MEC outside hitter Stephanie Leonard, but the Hilltoppers bring back 10 players from their team that went 24-10 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the MEC tournament. Seniors Olivia Baumhoer and Caitlin Clarke, and junior Madison Clayton, who each contributed 200+ kills last season, are among the returners. Senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Kailee Cunningham, a second-team All-MEC pick, also returns after ranking fifth in the MEC with 587 digs. The Hilltoppers were picked second in the MEC preseason poll, behind only defending conference and Atlantic Region champion Wheeling Jesuit. WLU opened the 2019 season last weekend at the Eckerd (Fla.) Classic, posting a 1-3 record.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. WEST LIBERTY
Series Record: 0-0

CALIFORNIA (PA.) SCOUTING REPORT
Members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the Cal Vulcans are led by head coach Peter Letourneau. Now in his ninth season with the program, Letourneau has won more games than any coach in team history, posting a 196-89 record to date. Since 2000, the Vulcans have been to the NCAA tournament 16 times, including six trips with Letourneau at the helm. The Vulcans posted a 20-13 overall record last season, advancing to the semifinal round of the PSAC tournament, and later the first round of the NCAA tournament. Ten players return to the fold, including first-team All-PSAC outside hitter Rachel Priore who ranked sixth in the league with 395 kills. Cal was picked third out of four teams in the PSAC Southwest Division preseason poll. The Vulcans took part in the Ashland (Ohio) Tournament last weekend, opening with a 3-2 defeat of Fairmont State before dropping three straight matches.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. CALIFORNIA (PA.)
Series Record: 1-2
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: California 3, Daemen 2 | Sept. 9, 2017 | at California, Pa.

DAVIS & ELKINS SCOUTING REPORT
The D&E Senators are first-year members of the Mountain East Conference, and are coming off a 10-18 campaign in 2018. The Senators are led by head coach Kylie Heyne who enters her fifth season with the program in 2019. Heyne has led D&E to three conference tournament appearances over her first four seasons, all as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and holds a 51-73 record to date. Nine players return to the roster this season, including senior outside hitter Kaitlyn LaCour who notched a team-high 297 kills last season. Senior defensive specialist Kelly Smith also returns after posting a team-best 457 digs in 2018. The Senators were picked eighth out of 12 teams in the MEC preseason poll. They opened the 2019 season last weekend at the Virginia State Invitational where they defeated the host VSU Trojans, but also suffered losses to Shepherd and Georgian Court.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. DAVIS & ELKINS
Series Record: 0-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Davis & Elkins 3, Daemen 1 | Sept. 8, 2017 | at California, Pa.

INDIANA (PA.) SCOUTING REPORT
The IUP Crimson Hawks are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and are led by fifth-year head coach Scott Pennewill. Since taking over, Pennewill has led IUP to a 69-54 overall record and a pair of 20-win seasons. His 2017 team captured just the second PSAC divisional championship in program history, an accomplishment that propelled Pennewill to PSAC Coach of the of Year honors. The Crimson Hawks went 7-24 last season, and bring back 11 players to the roster. Among the returners are the team's top five hitters from a season ago, including 6-foot-2 senior middle blocker Jessica Ignace who totaled 248 kills. Junior setter Dominica Niccolai also returns after registering a team-best 782 assists. IUP was picked fourth in the PSAC Southwest Division preseason poll. The Crimson Hawks suffered four straight losses when opening the season last week at the Courtyard by Marriott-Terrace Hotel Classic, including a 3-0 setback to No. 1 Tampa.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. INDIANA (PA.)
Series Record: 0-1
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: Indiana 3, Daemen 0 | Sept. 2, 2017 | at Indiana, Pa.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium where they'll host the Daemen Volleyball Classic presented by Millennium Buffalo on Sept. 20-21. The two-day tournament features five NCAA Division II teams and nine total matches.

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