Wildcats Host #8 Gannon In Saturday Doubleheader

4/1/2021 12:00:00 PM

GAME #2 & #3
DAEMEN WILDCATS (0-1) vs. #8 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (11-0)
SATURDAY, APRIL 3
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) - 11 AM & 1 PM
LIMITED SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19 - SEE UPDATED SPECTATOR POLICY

THE SERVE
Daemen welcomes nationally ranked Gannon to Lumsden Gymnasium for a double dose of women's volleyball action Saturday. It'll be the Wildcats second match action is as many weeks after going nearly 500 days between contests. Gannon comes in as one of 15 Division II teams that remain unbeaten in this unusual season.

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). The experienced senior class of Post, Heritz, Greenwood, Wicker and Peters 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 is in her fifth season at the helm. Since taking the reins in 2016, Albano has led the Wildcats to a 73-48 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. The Wildcats made their long-awaited season debut March 25 when they suffered a 3-1 loss (25-17, 25-27, 23-25, 21-25) to Mercyhurst. Heritz led the way offensively as she totaled a career-high 21 kills. Kuliga (10 kills), Burns (10 kills, 22 digs), Masic (51 assists, 13 digs) and Martin (24 digs) all made impressive Daemen debuts. It marked Daemen's first match in some 498 days, and the first of eight in the unorthodox spring schedule the Wildcats are playing.

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.

GANNON SCOUTING REPORT
Gannon is a member of the Pennsylavania State Athletic Conference and is playing an independent schedule this spring. The Golden Knights are led by head coach Matt Darling. Now in his 14th season with the program, Darling is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in program history, having led the Golden Knights to a 313-125 record to date and 11 consecutive NCAA tournament berths from 2009-19. Gannon's 19-player roster features 13 returning players from their 2019 team that went 30-7 overall, 17-1 in PSAC play and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. All-PSAC selections Ashley Kerestes (senior middle blocker) and Lauren Sampson (junior outside hitter) headline the Gannon returners and have helped the program get off to an 11-0 start this season. Sampson (3.59 kills/set) is pacing a Golden Knight offense that features nine players who are averaging at least 1.0 kill per set. Junior right side Ashley McClung (2.77 kills/set) and junior middle blocker Maggie Greenfield (2.45 kills/set) are also among the team's top offensive producers. Setting duties have been split between redshirt freshman Kaeli Kristensen (5.69 assists/set) and junior Valeria Torres (4.67 assists/set). Defensively, junior Kenzie Lasher is digging 5.94 balls per set. The Golden Knights enter this weekend ranked No. 8 in the AVCA Division II coaches' poll. They've dropped only three sets all season, one of which came in a 3-1 victory over then-No. 1 Hillsdale on Feb. 27.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. GANNON
Series Record: Gannon 11-1
At Daemen: Gannon 3-1
Current Streak: Gannon won 11
Last Meeting: Gannon 3, Daemen 0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-21) | Nov. 6, 2019 | at Erie, Pa.

NEXT BUMP, SET, SPIKE
Daemen makes the short nine-mile trek to Buffalo's west side to face D'Youville.

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