AMHERST, N.Y. - The defending East Coast Conference women's volleyball champions got their 2019 season off on the right foot as Daemen College knocked off visiting Ursuline College 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-14) to wrap up day one of the Daemen Volleyball Invitational presented by Millennium Buffalo. Seven players recorded kills and the Wildcats racked up seven blocks as a team en route to their third straight win in a season opener.
The opening match of the two-day tournament saw Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference affiliate Mercyhurst University take down Urbana University out of the Mountain East Conference by a 3-1 final (25-15, 21-25, 25-17, 25-15).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior outside hitter Allison Post (Windsor, Calif.), who emerged as the Wildcats' go-to player in the second half of last season, picked up where she left off, finishing with a match-high 13 kills on 28 attempts (.321 hitting percentage).
- The Wildcats also got a solid all-around performance from sophomore outside hitter Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) who tallied 10 kills on a .471 hitting percentage to go with eight digs and two solo blocks.
- Sophomore setter Isa McCaffrey (North Royalton, Ohio) contributed a match-high 20 assists, while junior Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) chipped in with 12.
- Defensively, junior Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) totaled a match-high 16 digs as the Wildcats limited Ursuline to an .094 hitting percentage.
- Daemen attacked at a .351 clip in the match, totaling 41 kills while committing just eight errors.
- Post and junior middle blocker Tirzah Peters (Amherst, N.Y.) each tallied solo blocks, and the Wildcats got block assists by Peters, Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) and Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.)
- Vikki Henderson, a first-team All-GMAC selection last season, led the Arrows with eight kills
HEAD COACH STEPHANIE ALBANO POST-GAME COMMENTS
"I really liked our aggressiveness level. This is the first time since I've been here that we played up to our level the entire match. Everyone was super confident and aggressive with what they were doing so it made us execute at a high level. It was fun to watch."
GAME NOTES
- Post has now recorded double-figure kills in seven of the last nine matches dating back to last season
- McCaffrey has now posted 10 or more assists in 33 consecutive matches
- The Wildcats are now 14-9 all-time in season openers
- Daemen played at home to open the season for the second straight year, but also for just the fourth time dating back to the program's inception in 1997
- The win extended Daemen's home winning streak to seven straight matches
- Daemen has won their last five contests against Ursuline, and the Wildcats own a 16-3 advantage in the all-time series
UP NEXT
The Daemen Volleyball Invitational wraps up with four matches tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. The Wildcats will take on Urbana at 1 p.m. and Mercyhurst at 6 p.m.
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.
