DETROIT, Mich. - The Daemen women's volleyball team suffered its second loss of the day as they wrapped up their opening day matches at the Warrior Invitational. Tournament host Wayne State knocked off the Wildcats by sweeping the first three sets (21-25, 13-25, 14-25) this afternoon at the Matthaei Volleyball Facility. 

The host Warriors, playing their first match of the 2021 season, connected for double figure kills in all three sets and attacked at a .289 clip for the match. Daemen started out strong with 15 kills in the opening set, but managed just 16 across the final two frames and dropped to 0-2 on the season. The Wildcats started the day with a tough 3-1 setback against Walsh. 

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Lauren VanderWal, one of 13 returning players for WSU, totaled a match-high 13 kills. She did so on just 20 attempts and did not commit a single hitting error, finishing the match with a .650 hitting percentage.
• Jenna Kray chipped in with seven kills for the Warriors, while Halle Shell made her presence felt at the net with five kills and nine blocks. 
• Kamryn Duffield posted a match-high 30 assists.
• Graduate student Caitlyn Meyer (Clarence, N.Y.), senior Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) and junior Loren Alberts (Huntley, Ill.) put down six kills apiece to pace the Daemen offense. Sophomore Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) chipped in with five kills as she and Alberts combined for a .280 hitting percentage out of the middle.
• Sophomore Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) had a team-high 14 assists, and sophomore Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.), seeing her first action as the team's libero this season, totaled a team-high 12 digs.

TURNING POINT
After a back-and-forth opening set, the Warriors firmly grasped control of the match with a 10-0 spurt midway through the second. With the teams tied at 10-10, Halle Shell put down a kill, her first of three in the run. Kray followed with a kill and VanderWal notched a pair of kills in the spurt as well. Logan finally answered for the Wildcats, but with the score 20-11, a comeback wasn't in the cards. 

After closing out the second set, the Warriors jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the third and cruised to the sweep. 

GAME NOTES

• Today's match marked the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Wayne State. The Warriors compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and are coming off a 4-8 campaign during the abbreviated 2020 season that was played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Wayne State was tabbed fourth in the GLIAC North Division preseason coaches' poll, while Daemen was picked second in the East Coast Conference 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. 
• Daemen's matches at the Warrior Invitational mark the program's first in the state of Michigan since opening the 2015 season at the Laker Riverfront Classic hosted by Grand Valley State.
• Daemen is off to an 0-2 start for just the second time in the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).

UP NEXT
Daemen wraps up their four-match trip to Motown on Saturday when they face East Stroudsburg (9 a.m.) and West Liberty (3:45 p.m.). 

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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.

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