Wildcats To Face Regional Foes At Redhawks Tournament

Women's Volleyball Concludes Tournament Play With Three Matches At Roberts Wesleyan Tourney

9/16/2021 12:00:00 PM

Redhawks Tournament
Location: Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center
Live Stream Broadcasts: Via ECC Sports Network - All Matches
Live Stats: Via robertsredhawks.com - Links Below

Match #1
Friday, Sept. 17 - 2:00 p.m.
Daemen Wildcats (4-3, 0-0 ECC) vs. New Haven Chargers (3-4, 0-0 NE-10)
Live Stats

Match #2
Saturday, Sept. 17 - 4:15 p.m.
Daemen Wildcats vs. American International Yellow Jackets (4-4, 0-0 NE-10)
Live Stats

Match #3
Saturday, Sept. 18 - 1:15 p.m.
Daemen Wildcats vs. Stonehill Skyhawks (2-4, 0-0 NE-10)
Live Stats

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. TOURNAMENT NUMBER THREE
Daemen plays in their final tournament of the 2021 regular season with three matches at the Redhawks Tournament on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan. All three matches are against regional opponents as the Wildcats meet Northeast-10 Conference members New Haven, American International and Stonehill - teams picked to finish among the top five in their league. The Wildcats are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Cavalier Invitational where they dropped a five-set decision to Davenport before picking up victories over Notre Dame (Ohio) and Mercyhurst. The latter victory was the Wildcats' first over the Lakers since 2011, snapping a three-match slide in the series.

2. WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT
Several Daemen players have earned recognition for their recent performances, headlined by right side Caitlyn Meyer who was named the ECC Player of the Week - her second straight selection. Meyer averaged 4.58 kills per set with a .312 hitting percentage across Daemen's three tournament matches at the Cavalier Invitational. On the heels of her All-Tournament Team selection at the Warrior Invitational on opening weekend, Meyer put down a career-high 23 kills in Daemen's 3-2 loss to Davenport last Friday - the most kills for a Daemen player since 2016. Meyer will enter this weekend's action leading the ECC in total kills (101) and kills per set (3.88).

3. LIV IT UP
Sophomore Olivia Alessi continues to make an impact at setter, a position she wasn't expected to play when the team opened preseason training camp last month. With senior Hannah McKee and sophomore Dunja Masic continuing to work their way back from injuries, Alessi has been more than serviceable running a Wildcat offense that is averaging 13.46 kills per set on a .210 hitting percentage so far this season. Alessi posted three consecutive double-doubles at the Cavalier Invitational last weekend leading to an All-Tournament Team selection and her recognition as the ECC Setter of the Week. She posted a career-high 50 assists vs. Davenport, and added a career-high 17 digs vs. Mercyhurst, ending the weekend with averages of 10.75 assists and 3.50 digs per set. She enters the weekend averaging 9.31 assists per set this season, ranking second among the ECC leaders. Alessi was joined on the Cavalier Invitational All-Tournament Team by classmate Vanessa Kuliga who powered down 14 kills on a .667 hitting percentage in the win over NDC.

4. DOWN THE ROAD
While it's likely too early to bill any matchup as an NCAA tournament preview, there's reason to think it may be possible with all three of Daemen's opponents this weekend. Start with the Wildcats, a team that was picked second in the ECC preseason coaches' poll. Through the first two weekends of play, Daemen's four wins are the most for any ECC team. New Haven is a perennial NCAA tournament team, while AIC has claimed two regional titles in the last five years. Stonehill is seeking its first NCAA bid since 2014. Daemen owns an NCAA tournament win over New Haven, beating them in the 2016 regional semifinals. AIC has eliminated Daemen from both their previous NCAA tournament berths, winning the regional crown at Lumsden Gymnasium in 2016 before bouncing the Wildcats in the 2018 opening round.

5. UP NEXT
The Wildcats open East Coast Conference play next weekend with road matches at Queens (Sept. 25) and Molloy (Sept. 26). They will also play a neutral site contest against Southern Connecticut State (Sept. 26).

NEW HAVEN CHARGERS SCOUTING REPORT
New Haven is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Chargers are led by head coach Christa Cooper was named to the position prior to the 2019 season. Cooper heads a program that has made 14 consecutive NCAA tournament berths, including her inaugural season when they finished 16-11 overall and 9-4 in NE-10 play. The Chargers did not compete during the 2020-21 academic year due to COVID-19. Just seven players remain from the Chargers' 2019 roster, including NE-10 All-Rookie Team selection Julia Guarniere who averaged 4.86 digs per set. UNH was picked fourth in the NE-10 preseason coaches' poll. The Chargers own early season victories over Ursuline, Bridgeport and Post. They are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Post Eagles Tournament. Outside hitters Macy Brown and Emily Barry are each producing 3.14 kills per set to pace the UNH offense thus far.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NEW HAVEN
Series Record: New Haven 2-1
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Last Meeting: New Haven 3, Daemen 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) | Sept. 23, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL YELLOW JACKETS SCOUTING REPORT
AIC is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Yellow Jackets are led by veteran head coach Matt Cribbin. Now in his 10th season at the helm, Cribbin has led the Yellow Jackets to a 146-118 record and three NCAA tournament berths to date, including East Region titles in 2016 and 2018. AIC was limited to just four matches last season, but won them all. AIC returns 13 players from last season's roster, including graduate student Andrea Serra-Rosa - the 2019 NE-10 Player of the Year. Naomi Eckert-Rivera, a First Team All-NE-10 setter from 2019, also returns, and the Yellow Jackets have been picked first in the NE-10 preseason coaches' poll. They're off to a 4-4 start thus far, splitting matches at both the Molloy Invitational and Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach. Two of their losses are to ranked opponents - #4 Nebraska-Kearney and #18 Hillsdale. Serra-Rosa is pacing the offense with 2.97 kills per set while freshman Dora Butkovic is also producing (2.79 kills/set).

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
Series Record: American International 3-1
At Neutral Site: American International 1-0
Last Meeting: American International 3, Daemen 0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-15) | Nov. 14, 2018 | at West Haven, Conn. | NCAA Div. II East Regional - First Round

STONEHILL SKYHAWKS SCOUTING REPORT
Stonehill is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Skyhawks are led by head coach Craig Martin who was named to the position in 2019. Martin led the Skyhawks to a 17-10 record and an appearance in the semifinal round of the NE-10 Championships in 2019 before his program was limited to just three matches in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Skyhawks return 13 players from their 2020-21 team and they've been picked fifth in the NE-10 preseason coaches' poll. Senior Abby Remick and junior Basia Peragine headline the Stonehill returners after finishing second (208) and third (201) on the team in kills during the 2019 season. The Skyhawks opened the season with four straight losses at the Shark Invitational hosted by Nova Southeastern, but have since earned a pair of regional wins over Southern New Hampshire and Assumption - both non-conference meetings with their fellow NE-10 members. Remick (2.55 kills/set) and Peragine (2.50 kills/set) have paced the Skyhawk offense thus far.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. STONEHILL
Series Record: 0-0
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Last Meeting: N/A

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