Senior Ali Greenwood (3) returns to anchor Daemen's defense in their unorthodox spring season

Women's Volleyball Hosts Mercyhurst In Unorthodox Opener

Wildcats to compete for first time in nearly 500 days

3/24/2021 9:00:00 AM

GAME #1
DAEMEN WILDCATS (0-0) vs. MERCYHURST LAKERS (0-2)
THURSDAY, MARCH 25
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) - 7 PM
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

THE SERVE
The Daemen women's volleyball team makes its long-awaited season debut Thursday evening when the Mercyhurst Lakers come to Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats' 2020 season has been delayed to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Thursday's match marks their first competition in 489 days. They last competed November 22, 2019 when their season came to an end in the semifinal round of the ECC Championship.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDCATS
1. Eleven players return from Daemen's 2019 team that finished 16-12 overall and 5-5 in East Coast Conference play. Among the returners are the team's top three attackers - outside hitter Allison Post (2.84 kills/set), outside hitter/right side Jenn Heritz (2.46 kills/set) and outside hitter Sam Logan (2.11 kills/set); their top setter, Hannah McKee (8.80 assists/set) and their top three defensive players - Ali Greenwood (4.04 digs/set), Georgia Wicker (2.54 digs/set) and Tirzah Peters (0.68 blocks/set). Greenwood has totaled 1,146 digs in her career - 74 shy of moving into the top 10 in program history. The experienced senior class of Post, Heritz, Greenwood, Wicker and Peters have helped Daemen to a 48-39 record over the previous three seasons. Both Post and McKee are expected to miss some time at the outset this spring while recovering from injuries.

2. Newcomers this season include outside hitter Jordan Martin, middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga, outside hitter Maggie Burns, defensive specialist Jasmine Brundage and setter Dunja Masic. Martin has been with the program since last spring after transferring from Southern Indiana. Burns, a sophomore, was the Mountain East Conference Freshman of the Year after competing at Urbana during the 2019 season. With McKee set to miss some time, Masic is likely to be the team's primary setter early in the season.

3. Head coach Stephanie Albano returns for her fifth season at the helm. Since taking the reins in 2016, Albano has led the Wildcats to a 73-47 overall record, a 38-14 conference record and two NCAA tournament berths. The program's success under Albano includes a 61-26 record against East Region opponents, two regular season conference championships and the 2018 ECC tournament title.

4. Thursday's match is the first of eight in this unorthodox schedule the Wildcats are playing this spring. The Wildcats will play five total matches against members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (vs. Mercyhurst, two vs. Gannon, two at Clarion). They'll also play a home-and-home series with long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan, as well as a road match at D'Youville which will play its first East Coast Conference season next fall.

5. While there will be no East Coast Conference season or championship tournament and the season is anything but ordinary, the matches do count towards official win-loss records. Statistics from each match also count towards career totals for each player and towards final NCAA statistical rankings.

MERCYHURST SCOUTING REPORT
Mercyhurst is a member of the Pennsylavania State Athletic Conference and is playing an independent schedule this spring. The Lakers are led by veteran head coach Ryan Patton who is now in his 17th season at the helm. In that time, Patton has led the Lakers to a 239-229 record. Mercyhurst returns 10 players from their 2019 team that finished 16-13 overall and 8-10 in PSAC play. Gone are the team's top three offensive hitters, including multi-time All-PSAC honoree Katie Baird. Junior opposite Madison Kasper is the top returner among hitters after averaging 2.01 kills per set in 2019. The Lakers also return a pair of setters who split time last season in Claire Kenny (5.71 assists/set) and Alexa Mitchell (5.48 assists/set), as well as senior libero Hannah Vuylsteke who finished second in the PSAC for digs per set (5.81). Among the eight Mercyhurst newcomers is junior setter Isa McCaffrey who played two seasons for Daemen and was named the ECC Co-Setter of the Year as a freshman. The Lakers made their season debut last weekend by dropping both matches of a doubleheader against nationally ranked Gannon.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MERCYHURST
Series Record: Mercyhurst 9-2
At Daemen: Mercyhurst 3-1
Current Streak: Mercyhurst won 2
Last Meeting: Mercyhurst 3, Daemen 2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 17-19) | Sept. 7, 2019 | at Amherst, N.Y.

NEXT BUMP, SET, SPIKE
Daemen hosts nationally ranked Gannon for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 3.

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