AMHERST, N.Y. - Six members of the Daemen College women's volleyball team have earned All-East Coast Conference recognition, and Daemen personnel claimed three of the league's four major awards for the 2021 season. Head coach Stephanie Albano has been named the ECC Coach of the Year, graduate student Caitlyn Meyer (Clarence, N.Y.) was voted Player of the Year and sophomore Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) was selected Libero of the Year. Meyer and Brundage were joined on the All-ECC first team by sophomore Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.), while juniors Loren Alberts (Huntley, Ill.) and Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) and senior Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) were named to the All-ECC second team. In addition, Paola Hernandez of the University of Bridgeport was named the ECC Rookie of the Year. The ECC made the official announcement of the women's volleyball awards and all-conference teams this morning.
The six all-conference selections were the most by a Daemen women's volleyball team since the Wildcats joined the conference in 2013, breaking the previous mark of three set in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Daemen has now produced at least one all-conference selection in seven of the previous eight seasons, excluding the 2020 season which was cancelled due to COVID-19.
In addition, the six selections for Daemen marks the most by one team since the ECC expanded the all-conference team from 12 to 14 members in 2015. The previous record of five selections was set by both Molloy College and the University of Bridgeport in 2019.
Albano has guided the Wildcats to a 20-7 overall record and a perfect 12-0 mark in conference play this season. It marks the third 20-win season for Daemen since Albano took over as head coach in 2016 and the program's first-ever unbeaten conference season in program history. Albano has her team positioned as the No. 1 seed in this weekend's ECC Championship, and as the No. 4 ranked team in the NCAA Division II East Region poll.
This marks the third time in her six-year tenure that Albano has been voted ECC Coach of the Year. She first earned the honor in 2016 when she led the Wildcats to 25 wins, the ECC regular season title and the program's first-ever NCAA tournament berth. She also earned East Region Coach of the Year honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association that season. She also collected the honor in 2018 when she guided Daemen to a 13-1 record in ECC play, resulting in another regular season crown.
Over the last six seasons, Albano has led Daemen to a 96-57 overall record and a 50-14 mark in ECC play. The former University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill setter came to Daemen after assistant coaching stops at Canisius College, Medaille College and the University at Buffalo.
Meyer, a 6-foot right side who played at James Madison University prior to Daemen, has made an immediate impact in her first season with the Wildcats and joins Ashley Drzymala (2016) as the only Daemen players to be named ECC women's volleyball Player of the Year. A four-time ECC Player of the Week selection, Meyer heads into the postseason as the team leader in kills (310), kills per set (3.52) and solo blocks (17). She also ranks third in block assists (39), tied for second in total blocks (56) and third in hitting percentage (.299). She leads the conference in kills per set and ranks fourth in hitting percentage. She registered double-digit kills in a match 20 times this season and posted a season-high 23 kills in an early-season 3-2 loss to Davenport University. She also notched 20 kills in a 3-2 setback to the University of New Haven and capped the season with a 15-kill effort in a 3-0 win over Le Moyne College. An outstanding student as well, she was named CoSIDA Academic All-District yesterday.
Brundage becomes the first player in program history to be named ECC Libero of the Year. She also collects first-team honors in her first full season with the Wildcats after her freshman season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 5-foot-5 defensive specialist has played in all 27 matches thus far and currently leads the ECC in total digs (399) and digs per set (4.24). A six-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, she racked up a season-high 31 digs during the loss to Davenport and totaled 19 digs in a 3-1 win over Edinboro University. She has recorded double digit digs in 23 of 27 matches this year and had a streak of nine-straight matches with at least 10 digs in early October.
Alessi was another transfer who made an immediate impact this season. A 5-foot-4 defensive specialist/setter who played at Duquesne University last year, she has played in 25 of 27 matches this year and leads the team in total assists (770) and assists per set (9.06) and ranks second in total digs (229). A three-time ECC Setter of the Week, she dished out a season-high 52 assists during a 3-1 loss to Southern Connecticut State University and contributed 47 assists and a season-high 19 digs in a 3-1 win over The College of Saint Rose. She heads into the post season ranked third among the ECC leaders in total assists and second in assists per set.
Alberts, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker, earns all-conference honors for the first time in her three-year career. She played in all 27 matches this year and currently ranks fifth on the team in total kills (157) and second in solo blocks (16), block assists (40) and total blocks (56). She totaled a career-high 11 kills and six blocks in the 3-1 win over St. Rose. She has appeared in 47 of a possible 61 matches over her three-year career and has totaled 219 career kills and 78 career blocks.
Burns, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter, is another first time All-ECC selection. She has played in 23 of a possible 27 matches this year and ranks fourth on the team in total kills (162) and third in kills per set (2.22). She also ranks second in service aces (29) and third in total digs (196). She collected ECC Player of the Week honors in early October after she led Daemen to a pair of wins over Roberts Wesleyan College and St. Rose. She matched her career-high with 16 kills vs. Roberts Wesleyan despite playing in only three of the four sets. Burns added a team-high 14 digs vs. RWC. She wrapped the week by totaling 13 kills and 12 digs in a four-set win over St. Rose.
Logan, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, collects All-ECC honors for the first time in her four-year career. She has played in 25 of 27 matches and ranks second on the team in total kills (209) and kills per set (2.90). She also leads the team in service aces (36) and ranks fourth in total digs (167). Logan was named ECC Player of the Week in early October after averaging 3.20 kills, 3.10 digs and 0.60 aces per set during wins over Edinboro, Mercy College and Bridgeport. She had a team-high 13 kills and 12 digs in a 3-1 win over Edinboro and followed with a team-high 11 kills and 10 digs to help Daemen hand Mercy its first ECC loss of the season. Logan also contributed eight kills and nine digs in a three-set win at Bridgeport. She has appeared in 89 of a possible 93 matches over her four-year career and has totaled 679 career kills, 110 career service aces and 634 career digs.
Daemen's all-conference honorees lead the Wildcats into postseason action tonight (Nov. 19). The top-seeded Wildcats will face fourth-seeded Molloy in the first of two ECC Championship semifinal matches tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus. Second-seeded Bridgeport will take on third-seeded Mercy in the other semifinal. The two semifinal winners will meet Saturday (Nov. 20) for the ECC Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.
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