Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Battle Bentley To Open NCAA Tournament Thursday

Daemen is the No. 2 seed in East Regional, looking for first NCAA tournament win since 2016

12/1/2021 9:15:00 AM

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - EAST REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS
(#2 seed) Daemen Wildcats (22-7, 12-0 ECC) vs. (#7 seed) Bentley Falcons (15-12, 9-4 NE10)
Thursday, Dec. 2 | 2:30 p.m. | Henry A. Butova Gymnasium | Springfield, Mass.
Watch - NE10 Now Network
Live Stats
Digital Game Program
Tournament Bracket
East Region Tournament Central
Game Notes (PDF)

LET'S DANCE
Daemen is the No. 2 seed in the East Regional portion of the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. The Wildcats, champions of the East Coast Conference, will open NCAA tournament play by facing seventh-seeded Bentley in the East Regional quarterfinals. The Wildcats are making their third NCAA tournament appearance (2016, 2018, 2021) while Bentley has earned 13 berths since 1993. The winner of Thursday's match advances to the regional semifinals to face the winner of third-seeded Stonehill and sixth-seeded Jefferson. The entire East Regional is being held at the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium on the campus of top-seeded American International in Springfield, Mass.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS... TIMES TWO
It was 12 up, 12 down in conference play for the Wildcats who secured the program's third ECC regular season title (2016, 2018, 2021). The Wildcats dropped only one set in conference play during the regular season while recording the first unbeaten conference season in program history. The Wildcats clinched the regular season title with a 3-0 defeat of Mercy on Nov. 6. The Wildcats then went on to win the ECC tournament championship with wins over fourth-seeded Molloy (3-0) and second-seeded Bridgeport (3-2). As the ECC tournament champion, the Wildcats earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

INSTANT CLASSIC
Daemen survived its stiffest challenge from an ECC opponent all season when they rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final round of the ECC tournament to defeat Bridgeport in five sets. Sophomore middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after totaling 25 kills, nine blocks and a .360 hitting percentage in two matches. Kuliga posted 14 kills and a career-high eight blocks in the finals vs. Bridgeport. Sam Logan added 14 kills and 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.

ON A ROLL
Daemen has won 18 of their last 20 contests, including the last nine in a row. It marks the Wildcats' longest winning streak since rattling off 15 consecutive victories during the 2016 season. It's also the second longest active streak among all East Region teams, trailing only American International (20 straight wins). 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.

CENTURY MARK
Daemen head coach Stephanie Albano stands just two 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.

BATTLE TESTED
While Daemen may have cruised through ECC play this season, the Wildcats have played eight matches against teams that have earned NCAA tournament berths. Five of Daemen's seven losses have come against NCAA tournament qualifiers. The Wildcats own wins over Atlantic Regional participants Edinboro and East Stroudsburg, as well as Stonehill - the No. 3 seed in the East Regional. The Wildcats have also played five-set matches against fourth-seeded New Haven and top-seeded American International.

AWARDS SEASON
Daemen put its stamp on the ECC's major awards and all-conference teams which were announced just prior to the start of the conference tournament. Caitlyn Meyer was named the ECC Player of the Year, while Jasmine Brundage earned ECC Libero of the Year honors. Both players were named to the All-ECC First Team and were joined by setter Olivia Alessi. All-ECC Second Team selections included middle blocker Loren Alberts and outside hitters Sam Logan and Maggie Burns. 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. In addition, head coach Stephanie Albano was named the ECC Coach of the Year. It marks the third time in Albano's six-year tenure that she's been selected by her peers for the accolade.

FORT MEYER
Grad student Caitlyn Meyer has made an immediate impact in her first and only season with the Wildcats. She is the ECC leader in kills per set (3.44) as well as Daemen's leader in total kills (330, second in ECC). 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 22 of 29 matches and also ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.285) and sixth in blocks per set (0.67) 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 is the ECC leader in total digs (439) and digs per set (4.30). Brundage has recorded 10+ digs in 25 of 29 matches and leads the Wildcats in sets played (102 of a possible 104). 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 9.13 assists per set (second in the ECC) while running the league's second most efficient offense. Alessi's 849 assists are the most for a Daemen player since Isa McCaffrey totaled 1,097 during the 2018 season. Alessi has seven matches this season with at least 40 assists and has also recorded a team-high 12 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 3.62 kills and 1.25 blocks per set. Both players own a hitting percentage above .300 hitting percentage, good for top three rankings 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). Alberts was injured in the ECC tournament final and the Wildcats will likely turn to freshman Amelia Armstrong to fill the void.

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 (2.95). Logan is also producing from the service line where she leads the ECC in aces per set (0.52). Burns is chipping in 2.22 kills and 2.69 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.

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.

NCAA EAST REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 2
12 p.m. - #3 Stonehill vs. #6 Jefferson
2:30 p.m. - #2 Daemen vs. #7 Bentley
5 p.m. - #1 American Int'l vs. # Southern Connecticut St.
7:30 p.m. - #4 New Haven vs. #5 Holy Family

Friday, Dec. 3
5 p.m. – Stonehill/Jefferson vs. Daemen/Bentley
7:30 p.m. – AIC/SCSU vs. New Haven/Holy Family

Saturday, Dec. 4
5 p.m. – Regional Championship

DAEMEN NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
2016
12/1 - #2 Daemen 3, #7 Post 2
12/2 - #2 Daemen 3, #3 New Haven 0
12/3 - #4 American Int'l 3, #2 Daemen 2

2018
11/15 - #6 American Int'l 3, #3 Daemen 0

BENTLEY SCOUTING REPORT
Bentley is a member of the Northeast 10 Conference and the Falcons are led by veteran head coach Joey Pacis. Now in his eighth season at the helm, Pacis has guided the Falcons to a 119-85 record. The Falcons are making the 13th NCAA tournament appearance in program history and their third since Pacis took the reins in 2014.

The Falcons enter the NCAA tournament with 15 wins in 27 contests this season. Bentley rattled off nine wins in 11 contests between Sept. 25-Oct. 30, but dropped three straight matches to start November, including a 3-2 setback to ECC tournament finalist Bridgeport. The Falcons got back on track with a 3-1 win over New Haven in their regular season finale and advanced to the NE 10 tournament semifinals following a 3-1 defeat of Southern Connecticut State in the quarterfinal round. They were defeated in the semifinals by eventual NE 10 champion and East Region No. 1 seed American International.

The Falcons have been led this season by sophomore OH/RS Ellie Wheeler who has totaled 367 kills. She leads the NE 10 in kills per set (3.86) and produced 10+ kills in 23 of 26 matches, including the last 13 in a row. Wheeler, who was named the NE 10 Rookie of the Year in addition to being an All-NE 10 First Team selection, put down a season-high 21 kills in Bentley's five-set loss to Bridgeport on Nov. 3.

Junior OH/DS Ingrid Murphy was named to the All-NE 10 Third Team and is producing 2.93 kills and 3.95 digs per set. Freshman DS Jazzy Burke is contributing a team-high 4.55 digs per set, helping Bentley rank 38th nationally with 18.07 digs per set as a team.

Senior Amanda Parker is the team's primary setter. She ranks third among the NE 10 leaders for assists per set (10.10).
The Falcons are seeking their first NCAA tournament victory since 2014 when they ousted Adelphi in the regional quarterfinals.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. BENTLEY
Series Record: 1-1
At Neutral Site: 1-1
In NCAA Tournament: 0-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Bentley 0 | Sept. 8, 2018 | Waterbury, Conn.

DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that Daemen has posted an 80-29 record (.734 winning percentage) against East Region opponents since 2016?

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