AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's volleyball team picked up another non-conference win on Wednesday, taking down longtime rival Le Moyne 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-15) at Lumsden Gymnasium. In the 18-game history between the Wildcats and the Dolphins in this rivalry that dates back to 1997, Daemen has topped Le Moyne 10 times.
Daemen out-killed Le Moyne 44-27 on the day, with the Wildcats finishing with a .304 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker
Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) led the Wildcats in kills (11), hitting percentage (.714) and aces (6).
The Wildcats move to 11-3 on the season, and 7-3 against non-conference opponents. Daemen has now won seven home games this season, including five straight 3-0 sweeps at Lumsden. Le Moyne drops to 5-7 on the season.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Vanessa Kuliga and graduate student Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) led the Daemen offensively tonight, both tallying 11 kills each to average 3.66 kills/set.
- Kuliga finished with a season-high .714 hitting percentage, knocking down 11 kills on 14 attempts with just 1 error. She added a career-high six aces (2.0 aces/set) an an assisted block.
- Logan earned her fifth double-double (kills-digs) of the season tonight, totaling 11 digs alongside her 11 kills. She added an ace as well.
- Sophomore middle hitter Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) tallied seven kills (2.33 kills/set) and just one error to finish with a .500 hitting percentage. She added a solo block and an assisted block, as well as two digs.
- Senior outside hitter Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) also totaled seven kills, with four of her kills coming in the second set alone. Burns added eight digs and an ace in the match.
- Junior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) totaled 33 assists (11 assists/set) and nearly notched a double-double, adding seven digs to her stat line on the day.
- Outside hitter Giselle Giraud earned a .308 hitting percentage with her five-kill effort. She also tallied an ace and two assisted blocks in the win.
- Senior middle blocker Shelby Kersten (Alden, N.Y.) earned playing time in the second set, finishing with a kill.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Daemen earned their sixth straight sweep of the season tonight. The last time the Wildcats have dropped a set was to Fairmont State on Sept. 16.
- The Wildcats out-killed the Dolphins 44-27. Daemen averaged 14.66 kills per set against Le Moyne.
- After tying the game at two a piece early in the second set, the Wildcats went on a 15-1 run.
- Logan tallied six of Daemen's 13 first-set kills.
- Daemen earned a season-high 14 aces tonight, averaging 4.66 aces/set. Kuliga led the way with a career-high six aces. Seven different Wildcats tallied service aces on the night, with three players notching multiple.
- Daemen's .304 hitting percentage ranks fourth highest on the season.
- Kuliga's 11 kills tonight match a season-high. She totaled 11 kills against St. Anselm and American International earlier this season.
GAME NOTES
- This was the 18th meeting between the Wildcats and the Dolphins in a rivalry dating back to 1997. Daemen is currently on a three-match winning streak.
- Daemen has won six straight matches this season, all in 3-0 straight sets.
UP NEXT
Daemen hosts Mercy on Saturday at 1 PM to close out the first half of East Coast Conference play. Saturday's match is the annual Team IMPACT game, where the Wildcats will be celebrating all of the program's Team IMPACT kids.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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 women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.
