Grad student Allison Post ranks third on the team by averaging 2.15 kills per set this season

Women's Volleyball On The Road To Open Conference Play

Wildcats to face Queens & Molloy to begin ECC slate; also face Southern Connecticut State in non-conference affair

9/23/2021 2:30:00 PM

Match #11
Daemen Wildcats (5-5, 0-0 ECC) vs. Queens Knights (1-8, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 25
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Flushing, N.Y. | Fitzgerald Gymnasium
Live Stream: Via ECC Sports Network
Live Stats: Via queensknights.com

Match #12
Daemen Wildcats vs. Molloy Lions (3-6, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 26
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y. | Quealy Gymnasium
Live Stream: Via ECC Sports Network
Live Stats: Via molloylions.com

Match #13
Daemen Wildcats vs. Southern Connecticut State Owls (10-2, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 26
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y. | Quealy Gymnasium
Live Stream: Via ECC Sports Network
Live Stats: Via molloylions.com

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. BIG APPLE WEEKEND
Daemen heads to the New York City metro area for a trio of matches this weekend, including their first two East Coast Conference contests of the 2021 season. The Wildcats will look to stay hot in the all-time series with Queens, opening conference play against a program they've won 10 of 14 lifetime meetings with, including the last four in a row. Sunday's double dip includes a meeting with rival Molloy, a matchup between teams picked to finish first and second in the ECC standings this season. The Wildcats wrap up the weekend with a neutral site, non-conference clash with a hot Southern Connecticut State squad that has won 10 of their first 12 matches this season. Daemen is coming off their third tournament of the season - the Redhawks Tournament hosted last weekend by Roberts Wesleyan where they dropped a pair of five-set matches to New Haven and American International before besting Stonehill in four sets.

2. OL' NESSIE
Sophomore middle hitter Vanessa Kuliga has really come into her own recently for the Wildcats. The Illinois native is averaging 2.52 kills per set on a .489 hitting percentage over the last five matches. She's adding 0.62 blocks per set in that span as well. Kuliga was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Cavalier Invitational where, among other matches, she put down 14 kills without committing a hitting error in Daemen's 3-0 win over Notre Dame (Ohio). She eclipsed that in the Wildcats' loss to New Haven last weekend, registering a career-high 16 kills (again without a hitting error). Her .696 hitting percentage vs. New Haven ranks as the second highest in the country this season for players with at least 20 hitting attempts in a match. Kuliga went on to total eight kills against both AIC and Stonehill (also a career-high six blocks) en route to earning ECC Rookie of the Week honors. Her 78 kills rank second on the team this season. She also leads the team and ranks second among the ECC leaders with a .390 hitting percentage.

3. FORT MEYER
The first three weeks of Caitlyn Meyer's Daemen career likely could not have gone a better from an individual standpoint. Meyer has been named the ECC Player of the Week three successive times, the most recent coming after she averaged 3.36 kills and 0.93 blocks per set at last weekend's Redhawks Tournament. She earned her second All-Tournament Team selection of the season, totaling 47 kills, 16 digs and 13 blocks across the Wildcats' three matches. She is presently one of three players in the ECC averaging at least three kills per set, and the only one doing so with at least a .300 hitting percentage. She leads the conference in both total kills (148) and kills per set (3.70). Meyer has recorded at least 10 kills in nine matches this season, including the last eight in a row. In that span, she's hit the 20-kill mark twice, including a career-high 23 vs. Davenport - the most for a Daemen player since Amber Drzymala had 25 kills vs. New York Tech on Oct. 1, 2016.

4. SETTING THE STAGE
The Wildcats have shown the ability to play systems with one or two setters so far this season. Sophomore Olivia Alessi filled in admirably at the season's outset and is likely to figure in the team's setting plans for the foreseeable future. She's posted six straight double-doubles and is averaging a team-high 8.03 assists per set - tied for third among the ECC leaders. Alessi was named to the All-Tournament Team at both the Cavalier Invitational and Redhawks Tournament in recent weeks, in addition to being the ECC Setter of the Week for Sept. 6-12. The Daemen lineup was bolstered with the return of sophomore Dunja Masic who made her season debut last weekend. Masic, who averaged 10.52 assists per set while exclusively handling the team's setting duties last spring, missed the first eight matches of the season while recovering from an injury. She split time with Alessi during Daemen's final two tournament matches, recording 24 assists vs. AIC and 17 vs. Stonehill.

5. UP NEXT
After playing their first 13 matches of the 2021 season on the road, the Wildcats make their long-awaited home debut next Thursday, Sept. 30 when they host long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan - the first of three straight at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium.

QUEENS KNIGHTS SCOUTING REPORT
Queens is a member of the East Coast Conference, and the Knights are led by head coach Stefan Leger. The Knights did not compete during the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19, and they return seven players from their 2019 team that finished 2-19 overall and 0-10 in ECC play. Leger, who took the reins in 2019, is charged with turning around a program that has not posted a winning season since 2008. The Knights are off to a 1-8 start and have dropped six straight matches since a 3-1 win over Caldwell on Sept. 7. Freshman outside hitter Christina Franco and junior outside hitter Dee-Ana Mitchell have paced the Knights thus far, averaging 2.44 and 2.60 kills per set, respectively. Franco is leading the ECC with 9.93 attacks per set. Defensively, sophomore Leila Hadjeb is contributing 3.38 digs per set, good for fourth best among the ECC leaders. The Knights are limiting opponents to a .196 hitting percentage, but have managed to hit just .090 themselves thus far. Queens was picked sixth in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. QUEENS
Series Record: Daemen leads 10-4
At Queens: Daemen leads 4-3
Current Streak: Daemen won 4
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Queens 0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-14) | Nov. 2, 2019 | at Flushing, N.Y.

MOLLOY LIONS SCOUTING REPORT
Molloy is a member of the East Coast Conference, and the Lions are led by first-year head coach Brian Smith. He was named to the position in August, taking over for Kevin DesLauriers who built the Lions into an ECC contender across his three seasons at the helm. The Lions posted a 74-20 record and won a pair of ECC championships from 2017-19 before opting out entirely of the unorthodox 2020-21 season due to COVID-19. Nine players from Molloy's 2019 team remain on the roster, including sophomore middle hitter Chye Davis, the 2019 ECC Rookie of the Year. After starting the season with four straight losses, the Lions have regrouped to go 3-2 in their last five matches, earning wins over Nyack (3-0), Pace (3-0) and East Stroudsburg (3-2). Molloy put down a season-high 66 kills and recorded 122 digs - the second most for any team in a single match this season - in their five-set victory over ESU. Senior outside hitter/right side Graciela Cruz (2.38 kills/set) is pacing the Molloy offense with additional contributions coming from freshman outside hitter Alex Brown (2.04 kills/set) and junior outside hitter Kathleen Doherty. Emily Meyer, a transfer from Division I Rhode Island, is leading the ECC in digs per set (4.03), while Davis ranks first in blocks to per set (0.79) to lead Molloy's defensive efforts. Molloy was picked first in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MOLLOY
Series Record: Daemen leads 11-5
At Molloy: Molloy leads 4-3
Current Streak: Molloy won 2
Last Meeting: Molloy 3, Daemen 2 (27-25, 22-25, 18-25, 28-26, 12-15) | Oct. 25, 2019 | at Amherst, N.Y.

SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE OWLS SCOUTING REPORT
Southern Connecticut State is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Owls are led by veteran head coach Lisa Barbaro. Now in her 17th season, Barbaro has led the Owls to 254 wins and has them off to a 10-2 start in 2021 - the team's first season since 2019. Seven players return from SCSU's 2019 team that finished 14-16 overall and 7-6 in NE-10 play. That group is headlined by middle hitter/right side Abigail Epstein who earned Second Team All-NE-10 honors in 2019. The Owls have beat up on teams from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference so far this season, going 7-1 in those contests. They rank eighth in the country for opponents hitting percentage (.093). Junior outside hitter Gabriela Gaibur is averaging a team-best 3.21 kills per set while Epstein is producing (2.84 kills/set, 0.49 aces/set) as well. Epstein leads the NE-10 and ranks 12th nationally in hitting percentage (.425), while sophomore setter Taylor Jones has run an efficient offense by averaging a conference-leading 10.00 assists per set. The Owls are one of the best serving teams in the country as they rank 25th in service aces per set (2.16). SCSU visits Pace this evening in their NE-10 opener before facing Molloy and Daemen this weekend. The Owls were picked seventh in the NE-10 preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE
Series Record: Daemen leads 2-0
At Neutral Site: Daemen leads 2-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 2
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Southern Connecticut State 1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-17) | Oct. 13, 2019 | at New Haven, Conn.

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