AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's volleyball team hosted first-year program St. Thomas Aquinas for the first time on Sunday morning and came away with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-17) victory. The Wildcats move to 18-5 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in East Coast Conference play. STAC drops to 3-12 on the year and 1-8 in ECC action. With today's win, the back-to-back ECC champions improve their conference regular season win streak to 31 matches dating back to Nov. 10, 2019.
The Wildcats remain undefeated (7-0) at Lumsden Gymnasium this season. Since the 2021 season, Daemen has a 27-2 record on their home court. The last time the Wildcats lost at home was October 18, 2022 when the Wildcats lost a non-conference match to Gannon.
Daemen out-hit STAC 51 to 21 on the day, and posted a .318 hitting percentage while holding the Spartans to hitting just .106 this afternoon.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Sophomore outside hitter Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) led all hitters on the day with 14 kills (4.67 kills/set) for a .241 hitting percentage and posted her second double-double of the season with 12 digs (4.0 digs/set), adding two aces and one assisted block for a match-high 16.5 points.
- Senior middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) posted 12 kills for a .688 hitting percentage and added one solo block, one block assist and a dig.
- Junior middle Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) totaled nine kills for a .313 hitting percentage, adding two assisted blocks and a solo block on the day.
- Fifth year senior outside hitter Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) and junior Kate Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.) each totaled eight kills. Burns posted a .333 hitting percentage and added 10 digs and an ace, while Ryan finished with a .368 and two assisted blocks.
- Senior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) ran the Wildcat offense with 47 assists (15.67 assists/set), adding seven digs and three aces.
- Senior libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) posted 19 digs (6.33 digs/set) and added one ace and an assist to her stat line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Daemen was explosive from the start, opening the match on a 9-1 run and leading by as much as 18-6. The Cats took the first set 25-13, out-killing the Spartans 16-6.
- The Wildcats racked up 18 kills in the second with a .406 hitting percentage to top STAC 25-18. Malpica totaled six kills in the set.
- The Spartans opened the third set on a 10-7 run. The Wildcats came back from behind, and after putting together an 8-1 run of their own, and won the third set in a 25-17 fashion while totaling 17 kills.
GAME NOTES
- The Wildcats have beaten STAC in both of the matches that they have played this season.
- Burns continues the hunt for her 1,000th career kill! With today's eight kill performance, the fifth-year senior moves to 986 total kills in her five-year career. She tallied her 1,000th career dig in Wednesday's match against Saint Rose.
- Daemen has won all seven of their home matches this season.
UP NEXT
Daemen will play in their final road match of the regular season on Wednesday when they travel to Rochester to take on Roberts Wesleyan in a 7 PM match.
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.
