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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
alberts wvb vs lemoyne
3
Winner New Haven UNH 4-4,0-0 NE10
2
Daemen DAE 4-4,0-0 ECC
Winner
New Haven UNH
4-4,0-0 NE10
3
Final
2
Daemen DAE
4-4,0-0 ECC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
New Haven UNH 25 15 18 25 15 (3)
Daemen DAE 23 25 25 23 13 (2)
2
Daemen DAE 4-5,0-0 ECC
3
Winner American Int'l AIC 5-4,0-0 NE10
Daemen DAE
4-5,0-0 ECC
2
Final
3
American Int'l AIC
5-4,0-0 NE10
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Daemen DAE 21 17 25 25 11 (2)
American Int'l AIC 25 25 22 20 15 (3)

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

Daemen Goes The Distance (Twice) At Redhawks Tournament

Wildcats suffer back-to-back five-set losses to perennial regional contenders

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Daemen women's volleyball went the distance, but came away with nothing to show for it. During opening day action of the Redhawks Tournament on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College, Daemen suffered a pair of five-set defeats to upper-echelon teams from the Northeast-10 Conference. 

In a match that lasted nearly three hours, the Wildcats built a 2-1 lead, but couldn't seal the deal in a 3-2 loss (23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 23-25, 13-15) to New Haven - a program that boasts 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. The Wildcats racked up a season-high 69 kills and had four players reach double figures in the loss. 

In the nightcap, Daemen fell into a 2-0 hole to American International - the NE-10's preseason favorite - before rallying to force a fifth set. The Yellow Jackets opened a 7-1 lead in the deciding set, and finished off the Wildcats (21-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 11-15). AIC has played in three of the last four NCAA tournaments, winning two regional titles in that span. 

Daemen's record drop to 4-5 on the season. Three of their five losses have been five-set affairs, and they've now lost nine five-set matches in a row - a span that dates back to the 2019 season. 

New Haven evened its record at 4-4, while AIC jumped over the .500 mark at 5-4. Both teams had additional tournament matches this evening.  

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Graduate student Caitlyn Meyer (Clarence, N.Y.) led the Wildcat offense from the right side once again. Meyer totaled 37 kills and posted a .280 hitting percentage today. She recorded 20 kills against New Haven - her second 20-kill match of the season - and added 17 more vs. AIC. She's now posted 10+ kills in eight of nine matches this season, including the last seven in a row.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) continued her strong start to the season, totaling 24 kills today. She posted a career-best 16 kills on a .696 hitting percentage vs. New Haven. Add in a career-high 11 kills for junior Loren Alberts (Huntely, Ill.) and the Daemen middles combined for 27 kills and a ,568 hitting percentage against the Chargers.
  • Senior Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) recorded 20 kills today, including 13 vs. New Haven which matched her season-high.
  • Sophomore Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) posted her fourth and fifth consecutive double-doubles, totaling 62 assists and 24 digs. She had a match-high 48 assists vs. New Haven. Against AIC, she saw her first action in the Wildcats' libero jersey, and posted 11 digs. 
  • Sophomore Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) recorded a match-high 17 digs vs. New Haven, and added 11 more vs. AIC. 
  • Emily Barry and Macy Brown posted 11 kills apiece, and Sophia Leon-Tabor chipped in 32 assists and 11 digs to pace UNH.
  • Dora Butkovic (14 kills), Andrea Serra (10 kills) and Mai-Lani Hernandez (10 kills) combined for 34 of AIC's 49 kills, while Naomi Eckert posted 35 assists and 13 digs. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE VS. NEW HAVEN
  • Daemen built a 20-14 lead in the opening set before UNH embarked on an 11-3 run to stun the Wildcats.
  • The Wildcats rebounded with 32 kills across the second and third sets, while limiting UNH to just 11.
  • The Charger offense came to life in the fourth set, staving off a loss by posting 14 kills and a .342 hitting percentage in the period. The Wildcats led 23-22 in the period, but surrendered the final three points to force a fifth and deciding set. 
  • The Wildcats never led in what was a back-and-forth fifth set. With the score tied at 13-13, UNH got a kill from Brown and a Daemen hitting error to complete their comeback. 
  • Daemen won the statistical battles in kills (69 - 44), hitting percentage (.280 - .146), assists (61 - 39), service aces (10 - 8) and digs (69 - 44), but took the loss nonetheless. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE VS. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
  • Daemen committed 17 hitting errors while dropping the opening two sets. AIC returned the favor with 14 errors in the third set alone, hitting -.086 in the period. 
  • Kuliga keyed a 7-0 Daemen spurt in the fourth that put the Wildcats in control. Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) and Jordan Martin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) made key contributions in the set as well, helping the Wildcats push the match to a fifth set.
  • After falling behind by six points early in the fifth, Daemen got kills from Meyer, Kuliga, Burns and Martin and rallied to pull within 12-11. But that was all the gas they had left in the tank as AIC scored the final three points of the match, clinching it on a service ace by Butkovic - their 11th ace of the match.

TOURNAMENT NOTES
  • Daemen is now 0-5 this season in matches played on Fridays.
  • The Redhawks Tournament is the last of three season-opening tournaments for the Wildcats. Daemen previously participated in the Warrior Invitational (hosted by Wayne State) and the Cavalier Invitational (hosted by Walsh).
  • Daemen's last win in a five-set match came Sept. 7, 2019 vs. Urbana. 
  • New Haven improved to 3-1 all-time vs. Daemen. The Wildcats' lone win in the series came in the 2016 regional semifinals.
  • AIC improved to 4-1 all-time vs. Daemen. The Wildcats and Yellow Jackets have met twice in NCAA tournament play, including in the 2016 regional finals.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats wrap up tournament play tomorrow when they face Stonehill at the Voller Athletic Center. First serve is slated for 1:15 p.m.

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

Follow the Daemen College women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.
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