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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
meyer wvb vs edinboro
0
Mercy MERCY 11-13,6-3 ECC
3
Winner Daemen DAE 18-7,11-0 ECC
Mercy MERCY
11-13,6-3 ECC
0
Final
3
Daemen DAE
18-7,11-0 ECC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Mercy MERCY 18 13 24 (0)
Daemen DAE 25 25 26 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications/Operations

Wildcats Claw Mavericks, Clinch ECC Regular Season Crown

Daemen will host upcoming conference tournament

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen women's volleyball team has claimed its third East Coast Conference regular season championship following a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-13, 26-24) over the visiting Mercy Mavericks this afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium. The win keeps Daemen's unblemished conference record intact at 11-0 as the Wildcats clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ECC Championship tournament.

With the No. 1 seed comes hosting rights for the ECC Championship. The tournament will come to Lumsden Gymnasium for the third time (2016, 2018), and it features the top four teams in the final ECC standings with the semifinal round on Friday, November 19 and the finals on Saturday, November 20. The Wildcats will be seeking their second ECC tournament crown, and their first since 2018. 

Now at 18-7 overall, the Wildcats are winners of five straight and 14 of their last 16 matches. Their 11 straight conference victories sets a new benchmark for the program, eclipsing the previous record of 10 set in 1999 and 2004. The Wildcats are ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II East Region poll which was released earlier this week. 

"I'm just really proud of our team," said head coach Stephanie Albano, the architect of all three championship campaigns. "It's just been a total team effort this season. We have a great group of women that really work hard and bring good energy every day. This is just the first goal that we've achieved this season. We're not done yet."

Mercy, which has already clinched a conference tournament bid, dropped to 11-13 overall and 6-3 in conference play with today's loss - their second of the season to the Wildcats. It marks the fifth time that Daemen has swept the season series with Mercy since joining the ECC in 2013, improving to 13-3 all-time against the Mavericks. 


IMPACT PLAYERS
  • The attacking duo of right side Caitlyn Meyer (Clarence, N.Y.) and outside hitter Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) once again powered the Wildcat offense, combining for 22 kills and a .362 hitting percentage. Meyer, the ECC leader in kills per set, recorded a match-high 12 kills - her 19th match this season in double figures. Logan continued her stellar play with 10 kills while adding eight digs.
  • Junior outside hitter Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) contributed both offensively (nine kills) and defensively (12 digs), while sophomore Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) posted a match-high 17 digs.
  • The Wildcats played without starting setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.), but didn't miss a beat with sophomore Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) running the show. Masic registered a match-high 33 assists and added five digs and three kills.
  • Larissa Schneid, the reigning ECC Player of the Week, totaled eight kills to pace the Mavericks. Setter Yarianne Gonzalez recorded a double-double (19 assists, 11 digs) and Selma Vulic tossed in 13 digs. 

THE DEFINING MOMENT
After Daemen took the opening two sets by seven and 12 points respectively, the Wildcats appeared poised to run away with the match. But Mercy built an early lead in the third set as they threatened to extend the match. The Mavericks led 18-14 before Daemen started chipping away. The Wildcats got within 20-19 on a kill by Logan, but the teams continued to trade points.

Mercy took a 24-21 lead following a Daemen attack error, and a fourth set seemed imminent. Mercy couldn't get the set-clinching point as they committed three straight attack errors to open the door for a Daemen comeback. With the set even at 24-24, Burns came through with back-to-back kills as the Wildcats scored the set's final five points. 

GAME NOTES
  • Allison Post (Windsor, Calif.) returned to the lineup after missing the previous six matches with an injury. Post was used as a serving substitute in two sets and had one service ace this afternoon.
  • Daemen has won eight straight home matches and are a perfect 7-0 at Lumsden Gymnasium this season. The Wildcats are 28-9 at home since the start of the 2018 season, and have posted a 26-5 record in home conference matches since Stephanie Albano became head coach in 2016.
  • The Wildcats have won 33 out of 34 sets played in conference play this season.
  • Daemen's 18 wins are the most in a season since 2018 when they finished 21-11. 
  • Meyer's 287 kills this season rank as the sixth most for a single season during the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present). She is 13 kills away from becoming just the fourth player of the era with 300 kills in a season.
  • Brundage's 372 digs this season rank as the fifth most for a single season during the program's NCAA Division II era. She is closing in on becoming only the third player of the era with 400 digs in a season. 

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will look to secure the program's first-ever unbeaten conference season when they host Bridgeport in the ECC season finale tomorrow at 11 a.m.

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.

Follow the Daemen College women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.
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