NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT -- EAST REGIONAL
East Region Quarterfinals
(#2 seed) Daemen Wildcats (20-5, 10-0 ECC) vs. (#7 seed) Saint Anselm Hawks (20-9, 9-3 NE10)
Location: Springfield, Mass. | Butova Gymnasium
Watch: via
NE10 Now
Live Stats: via
aicyellowjackets.com
Tournament Central
KEEP IT ROLLIN'
For the second straight year, the Daemen University women's volleyball team is headed to Springfield, Mass. to play in the NCAA Division II East Regional. The Wildcats garnered the No. 2 seed in the eight-team regional tournament, and will open NCAA Tournament play against No. 7 seed Saint Anselm in the quarterfinal match on Thursday. Daemen is making its' fourth NCAA Tournament appearance (2016, 2018, 2021, 2022), while the Hawks are making their first appearance since the 2019 season, and fourth appearance in the tournament in program history. The entire East Regional is being held at the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium on the campus of top-seeded American International in Springfield, Mass.
ECC CHAMPS
First year head coach
Eli Irizarry led Daemen to their
second consecutive East Coast Conference Championship over the weekend. The Wildcats went a perfect 6-0 in sets on the weekend, courtesy of back-to-back sweeps over Mercy in the semifinal match and Molloy in the championship. Graduate student
Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) was named Most Outstanding Player of the ECC tournament after totaling 22 kills on the weekend to average 3.66 kills/set. Daemen is the first team to repeat as ECC Champions since Bridgeport's four-year championship run from 2012-2015.
DO YOU GET DEJA VU
After winning the ECC Championship last season, Daemen continued their run through the playoffs on the campus of AIC in the 2021 East Regional. As the two seed in the tournament, the Wildcats narrowly beat seven seed Bentley 3-2 in the quarterfinals before taking down three seed Stonehill 3-1 in the semifinals. Daemen then faced top-seeded American International in the championship game, and in a 3-1 thriller, upset the host Yellowjackets on their own court to win the program's first ever East Region championship and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. The Wildcats returned to the scene of the regional in their fifth match of the season on Sept. 9, where they fell 3-2 to AIC for their first regional loss of the season. This weekend, the Wildcats make their way back to Butova Gymnasium as the two seed in the East Regional, and AIC is yet again the top seed.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Six Wildcats were represented in the end of season
All-Conference awards. Senior outside hitter
Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) was named ECC Player of the Year, becoming the third Daemen player in program history to win the award alongside
Caitlyn Meyer (2021) and
Ashley Drzymala (2016). Junior
Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) picked up ECC Co-Setter of the Year, and head coach
Eli Irizarry was named ECC Coach of the Year. This was the second straight season that the Wildcats earned both Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, as
Stephanie Albano was named Coach of the Year in her final season at the helm of the Daemen women's volleyball team in 2021. Burns,
Sam Logan and junior middle blocker
Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) were all named First Team All-ECC. Alessi and junior libero
Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) were both selected as Second Team All-ECC. Junior outside hitter
Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) picked up Honorable Mention honors. The Wildcats have produced at least one all-conference selection in seven of the previous eight seasons (the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19).
NEXT UP
If Daemen beats Saint Anselm, the Wildcats will play the Thursday afternoon winner of #3 seed Bentley and #6 seed Southern New Hampshire in the East Regional semifinal on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5 PM.
SCOUTING THE SAINT ANSELM HAWKS
The Hawks finished fourth in the Northeast 10 Conference this season, and come into the East Regional as the No. 7 seed in the tournament. Eighth-year head coach
Braden Zamore's team has been out-hitting opponents 1262 to 1098 to average 12.6 kills/set. Six Hawks have amassed triple-digit kills on the year, led by Second Team All-NE10 senior outside hitter
Lauren Casey, who averages 3.24 kills/set and is the only player on the roster with 300+ kills (305). Junior outside hitter
Kaitlin Brown ranks second on the team offensively with 214 kills (2.23 kills/set), while sophomore
Gabby Belcher is the final Hawk with over 200 kills on the team with 206 (2.17 kills/set). The Hawks have also served up 236 aces on the year, led by senior setter
Michelle Henwood who has 43. Named Second Team All-NE10, Henwood averages 8.92 assists per set with 821 total assists. Junior middle blocker
Audrey Wetjen leads the way at the net with 75 blocks, while freshman blocker
Ava Kidd (named to the NE-10 All-Rookie team) ranks second with 63 blocks on the year. Senior libero
Caroline Belmontez picked up Third Team All-NE10 honors after becoming the fifth Saint Anselm player to eclipse 1,300 career digs.
ALL TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. SAINT ANSELM
Series Record: 2-1 Daemen
At Neutral Site: 2-1 Daemen
Current Streak: Daemen won 1
Last Meeting:
Daemen 3, Saint Anselm 1 (21-19, 25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23) | Sept. 9, 2022 | Springfield, Mass.
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.
