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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 Walsh WAL 1-0, 0-0 GMAC
1
Daemen DAE 0-1, 0-0 ECC
Winner
Walsh WAL
1-0, 0-0 GMAC
3
Final
1
Daemen DAE
0-1, 0-0 ECC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Walsh WAL 25 19 33 25 (3)
Daemen DAE 23 25 31 15 (1)

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

Women's Volleyball Drops Season Opener To Walsh

Marathon Third Set Swings Match To Cavaliers' Favor

DETROIT, Mich. - The Daemen women's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss (23-25, 25-19, 31-33, 15-25) to former conference rival Walsh in the first match of the 2021 season today. The match was played as part of the Warrior Invitational being hosted this weekend by Wayne State at the Matthaei Volleyball Facility. 

It marked Daemen's official return to their traditional fall season, and the loss snapped their modest three-match winning streak dating back to the team's unorthodox 2020 season which was shortened and played played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Walsh, a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, represented the first in a series of tests for Daemen this weekend. The Cavaliers posted an 11-2 overall record in their abbreviated 2020 campaign, and combined with the Wildcats' additional tournament opponents (Wayne State, East Stroudsburg, West Liberty) to go 81-44 during the 2019 season - the last full season for the majority of NCAA Division II teams. 

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Grace Lindquist paced a balanced Walsh offense with 13 kills and a team-best .276 hitting percentage. Lindquist, Alexis Gilland (12 kills), Anna West (11 kills) Olivia Maczuzak (10 kills) combined for 46 of Walsh's 52 kills. 
  • Olivia Kearns totaled a match-high 43 assists, while Maczuzak contributed defensively with a match-high 18 digs.
  • Graduate student Caitlyn Meyer (Clarence, N.Y.) was impressive in her Daemen debut, totaling 10 kills on the right side of Daemen's attack. Meyer, who competed at Division I James Madision prior to transferring to Daemen, shared team-high honors with junior outside hitter Jordan Martin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) who also managed 10 kills. Martin added 16 digs to record her first career double-double.
  • Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) and Hannah McKee (East Highland, Calif.) split setting duties for the Wildcats and posted 23 and 12 assists, respectively. It marked Alessi's Daemen debut after she transferred from Division I Duquesne, while McKee was seeing her first action since 2019. An injury forced McKee to miss Daemen's entire 2020 season. 
  • The Wildcats got additional contributions from junior middle blocker Loren Alberts (Huntley, Ill.), freshman right side Kate Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.), and defensive specialists Mickaley Monahan (Saline, Mich.) and Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.). Alberts posted six kills on a team-high .357 hitting percentage and added four blocks. Ryan notched eight kills in her collegiate debut. Monahan, a junior playing in her home state for the first time as a collegian, shared team-high honors with 16 digs as she handled the team's libero duties. Brundage, a sophomore, also reached double figures and finished with 13 digs. 

TURNING POINT
After splitting the first two sets, the teams engaged in an epic battle for control of the match. The third set saw no more than four points of separation between the teams and headed into extra points. The Wildcats had four chances to close the set as they led 25-24, 26-25, 30-29 and 31-30, but the Cavaliers fended off each opportunity. A kill by Gilland evened the score at 31-all. Following a Daemen attack error, Gilland delivered the pivotal set point with another kill. 

Daemen fell behind 15-7 in the fourth set and the Cavaliers cruised to close out the match. 

GAME NOTES
  • The Wildcats were bidding for their first-ever victory over Walsh, a program that shared time with Daemen in the American Mideast Conference nearly a decade ago. It marked the first meeting between the teams since 2011 with the Cavaliers improving to 14-0 all-time in the series.
  • The match featured two teams with high expectations this season. Daemen was picked second in the East Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll, while Walsh has been predicted to finish second in the GMAC North Division, according to their preseason coaches' poll.
  • The Warrior Invitational is the first of three tournaments that Daemen will compete in this season. They'll also partake in the Cavalier Invitational hosted Sept. 10-11 by Walsh, as well as the Redhawks Invitational hosted Sept. 17-18 by Roberts Wesleyan.
  • Daemen's 18-player roster includes 12 returning players, three of whom - Allison Post, Sam Logan and Ali Cousins - remain from the Wildcats' 2018 NCAA tournament team. 
  • The Wildcats have now dropped back-to-back season openers for the first time since the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. 

UP NEXT
Daemen closes out the opening day of the Warrior Invitational by taking on tournament host Wayne State at 2:30 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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