With four matches remaining in her career, senior Ali Greenwood stands 48 digs shy of moving into the top 10 in program history

Wildcats & Redhawks Spike It Out Saturday

4/9/2021 2:00:00 PM

GAME #5
DAEMEN WILDCATS (1-3) vs. ROBERTS WESLEYAN REDHAWKS (1-0)
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
VOLLER ATHLETIC CENTER (ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - 1 PM
NO VISITING TEAM SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19 - SEE ROBERTS WESLEYAN SPECTATOR POLICY

THE SERVE
The women's volleyball version of the Thruway Rivalry takes center stage Saturday as Daemen treks east to Rochester where they'll face Roberts Wesleyan. It marks the first of two meetings during this unorthodox spring season as the teams will also face off at Daemen later this month (April 23). Daemen takes a 10-match series winning streak into Saturday's contest. It is tied as Daemen's longest active winning streak against any single opponent (also 10 straight wins vs. Carlow). Roberts Wesleyan will be seeking their first win over Daemen since Oct. 15, 2014. The Wildcats have won 20 of the last 24 meetings dating back to 2008.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDCATS
1. Daemen will be looking for its second win of the week after downing D'Youville in straight sets Thursday night in Buffalo. In the teams' first meeting since 2008, Daemen made clutch plays down the stretch of the opening two sets (25-16, 25-22) before cruising to a third-set victory (25-8) to seal the deal. It marked the Wildcats' first victory since a 3-0 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan in their 2019 regular season finale, some 509 days prior.

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 57 kills and is averaging 3.80 kills per set while attacking at a .475 clip. The Indiana native put down a career-high 21 kills in Daemen's season-opening loss to Mercyhurst, and added 11 more on a .688 hitting percentage in Thursday's win at D'Youville. She's now recorded 10+ kills in 30 of her 79 career matches. Heritz is one of seven players averaging at least one kill per set this season - Jordan Martin (1.92), Maggie Burns (1.80), Sam Logan (1.79), Shelby Kersten (1.50), Vanessa Kuliga (1.43) and Loren Alberts (1.00). As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 11.80 kills per set compared to 10.53 for opponents.

3. Senior defensive specialist Ali Greenwood totaled a team-high 11 digs Thursday vs. D'Youville - her second match this season with 10 or more. Greenwood has totaled 1,172 in 86 career matches and stands just 48 shy of moving into the top 10 in program history. Greenwood was recently joined by classmate Georgia Wicker in the 1,000 dig club. Wicker notched her milestone dig last Saturday vs. Gannon and has totaled 1,020 digs in 91 career matches. As a team, Daemen is averaging 17.9 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 15 sets and is averaging 9.80 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.

ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Like Daemen, Roberts Wesleyan is playing an independent schedule this spring, including four regular season matches and one exhibition. The Redhawks are led by sixth-year head coach Doug Porterfield and they return nine players from their 2019 team that finished with a 2-22 record. Among the returners are incumbent starters Lauren Norwood and Emily Rowlison, while contributors Anna Vorderbrueggen and Amanda Greenwood also return. Among returners, Rowlison is the team's leading hitter (1.49 kills/set) and setter (4.83 assists/set). She totaled 17 kills, 19 assists and 11 digs in RWC's only match so far this season - a 3-2 victory over D'Youville on March 20. Norwood added 15 kills and the Redhawks got key performances out of newcomers Miranda Rich (10 kills), Victoria Rudolph (15 digs) and Madison Truong (26 assists).

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ROBERTS WESLEYAN
Series Record: Daemen 29-20
At Roberts Wesleyan: Daemen 14-8
Current Streak: Daemen won 10
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Roberts Wesleyan 0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-16) | Nov. 16, 2019 | at Rochester, N.Y.

NEXT BUMP, SET, SPIKE
Daemen travels to The Keystone State for doubleheader action Saturday, April 17 at Clarion.

Print Friendly Version