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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
martin wvb vs dyc
3
Winner Daemen DAEW 1-3
0
D'Youville DYCW 0-3
Winner
Daemen DAEW
1-3
3
Final
0
D'Youville DYCW
0-3
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Daemen DAEW 25 25 25 (3)
D'Youville DYCW 16 22 8 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications | (716) 839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu

Wildcats Pick Up Win At D'Youville

Daemen dispatches of transitioning Saints in straight sets

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Good things come to those who wait. 

The Daemen women's volleyball team ended a 509-day gap between victories tonight as the Wildcats needed a little more than an hour to score a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-22, 25-8) over host D'Youville. The match was played before a limited audience at the College Center Gymnasium on D'Youville's campus.

Daemen, which went 498 days between matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, picked up its first win since their 2019 regular season finale, a 3-0 final at Roberts Wesleyan. The Wildcats improved to 1-3 this season. Daemen was coming off a pair of losses to nationally-ranked Gannon this past weekend, including a 3-2 gut-wrencher which saw the Golden Knights drop just their fourth and fifth sets in 13 matches this season.

D'Youville dropped to 0-3. The Saints are transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division II and will compete as members of the East Coast Conference next fall when the league resumes normal scheduling. 

It marked just the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and D'Youville, and the first since 2008. Daemen remained unbeaten in the series. 

After trading points at the match outset, Daemen took control with a 9-3 spurt, turning a 10-10 tie into a 19-13 advantage. The Wildcats ended up taking 15 of the set's final 21 points. The Wildcats put down 12 kills and hit .276 in the set, compared to just .032 for the Saints. 

The teams traded points again to open the second. There was no more than three points of separation until, with the match tied at 19-19, Daemen went on a 5-1 spurt. D'Youville clawed back within 24-22, but the Wildcats closed it out with their 19th kill of the set. The Saints were better offensively (.242 hitting percentage), but couldn't match Daemen's .359 attack percentage. 

Daemen opened up a 13-3 lead and cruised in the third set. The Wildcats managed 12 kills with only one hitting error (.478 hitting percentage) while holding D'Youville to a negative hitting percentage (-.037).
 

IMPACT PLAYERS

  • Senior right side/middle hitter Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.) continued her strong season, totaling a match-high 11 kills with a .688 hitting percentage. Heritz has now reached double-figure kills in three of four matches this season and in 30 of her 79 career matches. She's averaging a team-high 3.80 kills per set.
  • Newcomers Jordan Martin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Maggie Burns (Lousville, Ky.) also produced on the outside, splitting 16 kills while combining for 17 digs (Martin 9, Burns 8).
  • Freshman Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) continued to handle the setting duties exclusively. She recorded a match-high 35 assists and added three service aces.
  • Defensively, senior Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) paced the Wildcats with 11 digs. She's now 48 shy of moving into the top 10 in program history.
  • Kelly Cleversley (seven kills, five digs) and Carly Milleville (six kills) combined for 13 kills to lead D'Youville. 

GAME NOTES

  • Daemen's 2020 season was delayed from the fall to the Spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tonight's match was the fourth of eight on their abbreviated schedule. 
  • 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. 
  • Eleven players return from Daemen's 2019 team that finished 16-12 overall and 5-5 in East Coast Conference play.
  • Daemen was making just the second appearance at D'Youville's College Center Gymnasium, and their first since 1999.
  • Daemen was without the services of junior setter Hannah McKee (East Highland, Calif.) and senior outside hitter Allison Post (Windsor, Calif.) due to injury. McKee led the team in assists (528) in 2019, while Post shared the team lead for kills (241) with Heritz.


NEXT SERVE
The Wildcats look for the second win of the week when they travel to Rochester to face long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan at the Voller Athletic Center this Saturday.


Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Support Daemen College's return to intercollegiate athletic competitions by making a contribution to the Game On Campaign and the Daemen Wildcats Gotta Play Fund. This comprehensive fundraising campaign was established to help offset the loss of valuable external revenue streams that directly support Daemen's 17 varsity teams. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.
 

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