Freshman setter Dunja Masic is averaging 9.33 assists per set through Daemen's first three matches this season

Women's Volleyball Travels Thursday To D'Youville

Wildcats to face D'Youville for first time since 2008

4/7/2021 11:40:00 AM

GAME #4
DAEMEN WILDCATS (0-3) vs. D'YOUVILLE SAINTS (0-2)
THURSDAY, APRIL 8
COLLEGE CENTER GYMNASIUM (BUFFALO, N.Y.) - 6 PM
LIMITED SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19 - SEE D'YOUVILLE SPECTATOR POLICY

THE SERVE
Daemen hits the road for the first time this spring with a short nine-mile trek to D'Youville's College Center Gymnasium to face the Saints. It marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2008, and Daemen's first trip to D'Youville since 1999.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDCATS
1. Daemen will enter Thursday's match seeking their first win of the 2020 season which was delayed from fall to spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After ending a nearly 500-day hiatus between matches with their season opener March 25 vs. Mercyhurst, the Wildcats are trying for their first victory since the 2019 regular season finale (3-0 vs. Roberts Wesleyan) some 509 days ago. The Wildcats are coming off a pair of losses to Gannon - the No. 8 ranked team in the country - this past weekend. After dropping the opening match of the doubleheader in straight sets (20-25, 22-25, 16-25), the Wildcats pushed the Golden Knights to five sets in the finale (15-25, 15-25, 26-24, 25-13, 15-6). Gannon had entered the doubleheader only dropping three sets during an unbeaten run through their first 11 matches of the season.

2. Senior right side/middle hitter Jenn Heritz has been the go-to player on the offensive side for Daemen thus far. Heritz has totaled a team-high 46 kills and is averaging 3.83 kills per set while attacking at a .435 clip. The Indiana native put down a career-high 21 kills in Daemen's season-opening loss to Mercyhurst, and added 18 more in the five-set loss to Gannon. She's now recorded 10+ kills in 29 of her 78 career matches. Heritz is one of six players averaging at least one kill per set this season - Sam Logan (1.73), Vanessa Kuliga (1.73), Maggie Burns (1.58), Jordan Martin (1.50) and Shelby Kersten (1.25).

3. During Saturday's second match vs. Gannon, senior defensive specialist Georgia Wicker recorded the 1,000th dig of her career. In 90 career matches, Wicker has totaled 1,018 digs and averaged 3.13 digs per set. She is the second player on Daemen's current roster to reach the milestone, joining classmate Ali Greenwood who has totaled 1,161 digs in 85 matches. Greenwood stands 59 digs shy of moving into the top 10 in program history. As a team, Daemen is averaging 18.3 digs per set which would be the best production of the program's NCAA era.

4. With incumbent starter Hannah McKee sidelined with an injury that's expected to keep her out all spring, freshman Dunja Masic has handled the setting duties in an exclusive capacity thus far. She's appeared in all 12 sets and is averaging 9.33 assists per set. Masic posted double-doubles against Mercyhurst (51 assists, 13 digs) and Gannon (36 assists, 10 digs).

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.

D'YOUVILLE SCOUTING REPORT
D'Youville is transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division II and will compete as a member of the East Coast Conference when the league resumes volleyball scheduling in the fall. The Saints are led by first-year head coach Kyle Shanley who was elevated to the position following two years as an assistant on coach Cathy Hummel's staff. Shanley is working with a 15-player roster that includes just six returning players and nine newcomers. Among the newcomers are seven athletes produced by Western New York high schools. Junior defensive specialist Desiree Walters and sophomore middle hitter Brianna Damstetter headline the D'Youville returners. Walters led the team by averaging 3.93 digs per set last season, while Damstetter finished second in kills per set (1.62), hitting percentage (.172) and blocks per set (0.49). The Saints are 0-2 so far in this unorthodox spring season and have been idle since suffering a 3-2 loss to Roberts Wesleyan on March 20. Freshman outside hitter Kelly Cleversley (2.13 kills/set) has led the way offensively, while Damstetter (1.67 kills/set, 0.67 blocks/set) and Walters (3.75 digs/set) are once again producing.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. D'YOUVILLE
Series Record: Daemen 3-0
At D'Youville: Daemen 1-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, D'Youville 0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-16) | Sept. 5, 2008 | at Erie, Pa.

NEXT BUMP, SET, SPIKE
Daemen heads about an hour to the east this Saturday to face long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan in a 1 p.m. match.

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