Bob Blanchard

Wildcats Look To Punch Ticket To Elite Eight Saturday

Second-seeded Daemen meets top-seeded American International in rematch of 2016 regional championship

12/4/2021 1:37:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications/Operations | 716-839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - EAST REGIONAL FINALS
(#2 seed) Daemen Wildcats (24-7, 12-0 ECC) vs. (#1 seed) American International Yellow Jackets (29-6, 11-2 NE10)
Saturday, Dec. 4 | 5:00 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)

BEASTS OF THE EAST
The top two seeds in the NCAA Division II East Regional will meet for a regional title Saturday when second-seeded Daemen takes on top-seeded American International at 5 p.m. inside Henry A. Butova Gymnasium. Daemen is making its second appeared in the regional finals. The Wildcats advanced with a 3-1 defeat of third-seeded Stonehill in Friday's first semifinal match. AIC followed up with a 3-0 sweep of fifth-seeded Holy Family, advancing to the regional finals for the fourth time in five seasons.

A REMATCH FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING
With Daemen and AIC meeting Saturday, it marks a rematch of the 2016 East Regional finals. AIC, then seeded fourth, scored a 3-2 win over second-seeded Daemen on the Wildcats' home court to win their first regional title. Three of the five all-time meetings have gone to five sets, including a 3-2 AIC win earlier this season. Caitlyn Meyer put down 17 kills to lead Daemen in defeat. Dora Butkovic (14 kills), Mai-Lani Hernandez (10 kills) and Andrea Serra-Rosa (10 kills) provided balance to the AIC offense. The Yellow Jackets have won four straight in the all-time series. The winner of Saturday's match advances to the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship Elite Eight which is set for Dec. 9-11 in Tampa, Fla.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Daemen, which has reached the 20-win plateau for the 12th time in program history, has won 11 straight and 20 of their last 22 contests. It ranks as the program's longest winning streak since rattling off 15 consecutive wins in 2016. On the flip side, AIC has won 22 straight matches – the second longest active streak among all Division II teams.

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 CLASSICS
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. The Wildcats made the same rally in their NCAA tournament opener as they defeated seventh-seeded Bentley in five sets. Amelia Armstrong recorded a career-high 11 kills and Jasmine Brundage had the most digs (35) for any Daemen player during the program's NCAA Division II era. The Wildcats had lost nine consecutive five-set matches prior to their recent success.

CENTURY MARK
Daemen's regional semifinal defeat of Stonehill marked the 100th win in the career of head coach Stephanie Albano. She became 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 entered the postseason having 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.

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 (3.33) as well as Daemen's leader in total kills (350, 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 23 of 31 matches and also ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.262) 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 (492) and digs per set (4.43). Brundage has recorded 10+ digs in 27 of 31 matches and leads the Wildcats in sets played (111 of a possible 113). 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 9.09 assists per set (second in the ECC) while running the league's second most efficient offense. Alessi's 927 assists are the most for a Daemen player since Isa McCaffrey totaled 1,097 during the 2018 season. Alessi has eight matches this season with at least 40 assists and has also recorded a team-high 14 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 1.27 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 finals and the Wildcats have turned to freshman Amelia Armstrong (1.44 kills/set, .396 hit %) 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 (2.63). Logan is also producing from the service line where she leads the ECC in aces per set (0.50). Burns is chipping in 2.14 kills and 2.73 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.

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.

NCAA EAST REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 2
#3 Stonehill 3, #6 Jefferson 0
#2 Daemen 3, #7 Bentley 2
#1 American Int'l 3, #8 Southern Connecticut St. 0
#5 Holy Family 3, #4 New Haven 2

Friday, Dec. 3
5 p.m. – #2 Daemen 3 vs. #3 Stonehill 1
7:30 p.m. – #1 AIC 3 vs. #5 Holy Family 0

Saturday, Dec. 4
5 p.m. – #1 AIC vs. #2 Daemen

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

2021
12/2 - #2 Daemen 3, #7 Bentley 2
12/3 - #2 Daemen 3, #3 Stonehill 1

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING REPORT
American International is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference and the Yellow Jackets are led by veteran head coach Matt Cribbin. Now in his 10th season at the helm, Cribbin has led the Yellow Jackets to a 171-120 record and four NCAA tournament berths. AIC has won East Region titles in 2016 and 2018 under Cribbin's direction. He was named the 2021 AVCA Division II East Region Coach of the Year.

After being limited to just four matches during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, AIC has posted 29 wins in 35 matches this fall. The Yellow Jackets return 13 players from last season's roster, including graduate student Andrea Serra-Rosa, the 2019 and 2021 NE10 Player of the Year. Serra-Rosa, who was also named the 2021 East Region Player of the Year by both the D2CCA and AVCA, is producing a team-high 3.76 kills per set and has totaled 15 double-doubles this season.

Sophomore Naomi Eckert-Rivera has racked up 1,346 assists and averaged 11.03 assists per set. She was named the NE10 Setter of the Year. Additional production is coming from Paola Soto-Burgos (2.58 kills/set), Amanda Rodriguez (4.52 digs/set) and Mai-Lani Hernandez (0.84 blocks/set).

The Yellow Jackets won their first NE10 tournament championship since 1996 by defeating New Haven in five sets on Nov. 20. Serra-Rosa was named the tournament MVP after totaling 19 kills and 16 digs in the finals.

AIC is the No. 1 seed in the East Regional and the Yellow Jackets have advanced to the regional finals for the fourth time in five seasons. They've won 11 straight and 47 of their last 58 home matches dating back to 2016. The Yellow Jackets scored 3-0 wins over eighth-seeded Southern Connecticut State and fifth-seeded Holy Family to advance.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
Series Record: 1-4
At AIC: 1-0
In NCAA Tournament: 0-2
Current Streak: Lost 4
Last Meeting: AIC 3, Daemen 2 | Sept. 17, 2018 | Rochester, N.Y.

DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that Daemen has posted an 83-29 record (.741 winning percentage) against East Region opponents since 2016?

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