Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Begin Postseason Journey Friday In ECC Semifinals

Daemen enters conference tournament as No. 1 seed, hosts fourth-seeded Molloy

11/18/2021 12:45:00 PM

EAST COAST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Nov. 19-20 | Lumsden Gymnasium | Amherst, N.Y.
Watch - ECC Network (All Matches)
Live Stats (All Matches)
Tickets

Semifinal #1 - Friday, Nov. 19 - 5:30 p.m.
(#1 seed) Daemen Wildcats (20-7, 12-0 ECC) vs. (#4 seed) Molloy Lions (12-13, 7-5 ECC)
Game Notes (PDF)

Semifinal #2 - Friday, Nov. 19 - 7:30 p.m.
(#2 seed) Bridgeport Purple Knights (17-9, 9-3 ECC) vs. (#3 seed) Mercy Mavericks (13-14, 8-4 ECC)

Finals - Saturday, Nov. 20 - 3 p.m.
Daemen/Molloy vs. Bridgeport/Mercy

A NEW SEASON
Daemen makes its return to the East Coast Conference Championship tournament in the first of two semifinal matches Friday at Lumsden Gymnasium. The top-seeded Wildcats will battle fourth-seeded Molloy for the right to advance to Saturday's tournament final. Second-seeded Bridgeport takes on third-seeded Mercy in the second semifinal beginning at 7:30 p.m. The ECC Championship is being hosted by Daemen for the third time and the Wildcats are seeking their second tournament crown and first since 2018.

WE ARE THE (REGULAR SEASON) CHAMPIONS
Daemen enters the conference tournament following an unbeaten run through ECC play this season. It was 12 up, 12 down for the Wildcats who secured the first unblemished conference campaign in program history. The Wildcats, who dropped only one set in conference play all season, clinched their third ECC regular season title with a 3-0 defeat of Mercy on Nov. 6. Daemen previously won the regular season conference title in 2016 and 2018. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons and will be looking to do the same in 2021.

ON A ROLL
Daemen has won 16 of their last 18 contests, including the last seven in a row. It marks the Wildcats' longest winning streak since rattling off 15 consecutive victories during the 2016 season. It's also the third longest active streak among all East Region teams, trailing American International (18 straight wins) and Holy Family (11 straight wins) – the No. 1 seeds in the respective NE-10 and CACC tournaments this week. Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau for the 12th time in program history and for the third time as an NCAA Division II program.

WRAP IT UP
Daemen closed out the regular season with a 3-0 non-conference road win over Le Moyne on Nov. 11. Grad student Caitlyn Meyer powered down 15 kills – one shy of her season-high for a three-set match – to lead the Wildcats. Olivia Alessi returned to action after missing the prior two matches and recorded a match-high 29 assists to go with nine digs. Daemen trailed only once in the entire match, a 1-0 deficit to start the second set. They built leads of 15-5 (first set), 16-10 (second set) and 18-5 (third set) that Le Moyne was never able to overcome.

CENTURY MARK
Daemen head coach Stephanie Albano stands just four wins shy of 100 for her career. She would become only the second coach in program history to reach the century mark, joining Mark Parisi who led the program to a 151-178 record from 2005-14. Earlier this season, Albano passed Western New York coaching icon Sally Kus for second on the program's all-time wins list. Kus led the program to a 92-54 record from 1998-2001 before moving on to Division I Buffalo.

POLL POSITION
The NCAA published its third regional rankings of the 2021 season this week and the Wildcats are up one spot to No. 4. The East Region is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the regional rankings are used to determine at-large bids and seeds in the East Regional portion of the NCAA Tournament. This week's regional poll is as follows...

1. American International (24-6)
2. Stonehill (20-8)
3. Holy Family (23-3)
4. DAEMEN (20-7)
5. Jefferson (23-4)
6. Bentley (14-11)
7. New Haven (20-8)
8. Southern Connecticut State (23-9)
9. Saint Ansel (19-7)
10. Adelphi (17-11)

BATTLE TESTED
While Daemen may have cruised through ECC play this season, the Wildcats have played nine games against teams included in their respective regional rankings, posting a 4-5 record. The Wildcats own a win over Stonehill, the No. 2 ranked team in the East – one of only four in-region losses for the Skyhawks. Daemen is also 3-1 against the Atlantic Region's ranked teams with wins over No. 4 Edinboro, No. 7 East Stroudsburg and No. 10 West Liberty.

ECC TOURNAMENT TICKETS
Tickets for each game of the ECC tournament can be purchased in advance at www.eccsports.org/tickets. Ticket prices will be $8 for general admission and $4 for senior citizens, students, and children ages 2-5. Children under two will be admitted for free. In addition, cash will not be accepted so those wishing to purchase tickets at the venue must still use the ECC ticket website to purchase them (QR code to scan with a smartphone will be available at the gate).

FORT MEYER
Grad student Caitlyn Meyer has made an immediate impact in her first and only season with the Wildcats, finishing the regular season as the ECC's leader in kills per set (3.52) as well as Daemen's leader in total kills (310). She's the first Daemen player with more than 300 kills in a season since Meghan Ballou in 2017. A four-time ECC Player of the Week selection, Meyer has tallied 10+ kills in 20 of 27 matches, and also ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.299) and ninth in blocks per set (0.64) among the ECC leaders. A Western New York native, Meyer is competing in a fifth collegiate season awarded to players by the NCAA due to COVID-19. She played the first four seasons of her career at the Division I level for James Madison.

JAS-ERCISE
Sophomore Jasmine Brundage has emerged as one of the premier defensive players in the ECC this season. A six-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, Brundage finished the regular season as the ECC leader in total digs (399) and digs per set (4.24). Brundage has recorded 10+ digs in 23 of 27 matches and leads the Wildcats in sets played (94 of a possible 96). If the season ended today, Brundage would hold the second-highest digs-per-set average of Daemen's NCAA Division II era, trailing only Ali Greenwood's 4.45 average in 2018.

SETTING THE TABLE
Sophomore Olivia Alessi has made quite the adjustment in her first season with the Wildcats. Recruited primarily as a defensive specialist, Alessi transitioned to setter early in the season as the Wildcats were dealt with a rash of injuries at the position. All she's done since then is average 9.06 assists per set (second in the ECC) while running the league's second most efficient offense. Alessi's 770 assists are the most for a Daemen player since Isa McCaffrey totaled 1,097 during the 2018 season. Alessi has six matches this season with at least 40 assists and has also recorded a team-high 11 double-doubles. She's been named the ECC Setter of the Week three times, while teammate Dunja Masic has earned the award twice. Since the conference began recognizing a Setter of the Week in 2014, Daemen is the only team with multiple recipients in the same season.

UP THE MIDDLE
Daemen has gotten solid, perhaps unheralded, play out of their starting middle blockers this season. Junior Loren Alberts and sophomore Vanessa Kuliga are combining for 3.59 kills and 1.23 blocks per set. Both players own a .319 hitting percentage – tied for second among the ECC leaders. Kuliga is a three-time ECC weekly honoree (one-time Defensive Player of the Week, two-time Rookie of the Week).

ON THE OUTSIDE
Senior Sam Logan and junior Maggie Burns have both produced from the outside hitter position for the Wildcats this season. Logan ranks second on the team in fifth in the conference for kills per set (2.90). She's been especially strong across the last 18 matches, totaling 146 of her 209 kills in that span. Logan is also producing from the service line where she leads the ECC in aces per set (0.51). Burns is chipping in 2.22 kills and 2.68 digs per set. The Kentucky native is in her second season with Daemen after transferring from Urbana where she earned Mountain East Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2019.

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Molloy is a member of the East Coast Conference and the Lions are led by first-year head coach Brian Smith. He was named to the position in August, taking over for Kevin DesLauriers who built the Lions into an ECC contender across his three seasons at the helm. The Lions posted a 74-20 record and won a pair of ECC championships from 2017-19 before opting out entirely of the unorthodox 2020-21 season due to COVID-19. Nine players from Molloy's 2019 team remain on the roster, including sophomore middle hitter Chye Davis, the 2019 ECC Rookie of the Year. Senior middle hitter Kacey Affrunti, the 2019 ECC Player of the Year, also remains on the roster, but she has missed the entire season with an injury.

Molloy hits the postseason with wins in three of their last five contests, but the Lions went a combined 1-5 against Daemen, Bridgeport and Mercy – teams that finished ahead of them in the ECC standings. Molloy is coming off a 3-0 defeat of Queens in their regular finale season finale last Saturday.

Senior outside hitter/right side Graciela Cruz (3.11 kills/set) has paced the Molloy offense with additional contributions coming from Davis (1.91 kills/set) and junior outside hitter Kathleen Doherty (1.80 kills/set). Cruz ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in kills per set and recorded a season-high 24 kills in matches against Adelphi and Southern Connecticut State. Doherty has been the Lions' top defensive player, especially over the second half of the season, averaging a team-high 3.44 digs per set. Sophomore middle Colleen Moulder ranks second among the ECC leaders in blocks per set (0.75). Setter Kassie Akouri Tejedor ranks fourth in the league for assists per set (8.23).

As a team, Molloy leads the ECC in service aces (2.13) and blocks (1.63) per set.

The Lions enter this weekend's action as the defending ECC tournament champions. The Lions claimed the 2019 crown with wins over Mercy and Bridgeport and eventually advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament. There was no ECC or NCAA tournaments during the 2020 season due to COVID-19.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MOLLOY
Series Record: Daemen leads 13-5
At Daemen: Daemen leads 9-1
In ECC Tournament: Daemen leads 1-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 2
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Molloy 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-16) | Oct. 23, 2021 | at Amherst, N.Y.

DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that Friday's match is the first postseason meeting between Daemen and Molloy since the 2018 ECC tournament championship? The Wildcats earned a 3-1 win (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23) to capture their first ECC tournament title.

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