AMHERST, N.Y. -- Ahead of this weekend's 2023 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament, six Daemen University women's volleyball players earned All-Conference honors, with two Wildcats taking home major awards. Senior libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) was named the ECC Libero of the Year and freshman outside hitter Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) earned ECC Rookie of the Year.

Along with Brundage and Koerber, Mercy's Larissa Schneid was named Player of the Year and Yarianne Gonzalez was named Setter of the Year, and Molloy head coach Brian Smith was named the Coach of the Year. 

A pair of Daemen players join Brundage and Koerber on the All-ECC First Team. Fifth year senior Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) and senior right side Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) take home First Team honors, while senior setter Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) earns Second Team All-ECC honors this season. Senior middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) was named Honorable Mention All-ECC. This is the third straight season that the Wildcats have placed six players on All-Conference teams. Daemen has produced at least one all-conference selection in eight of the previous nine seasons (the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19). 

Jasmine Brundage, a 5-foot-5 senior libero, put together a stellar senior campaign, and earns ECC Libero of the Year for the second time in her career. Playing in 26 of Daemen's 27 matches on the year, Brundage leads the league in both digs (441) and digs per set (5.01). Her 5.01 digs per set ranks 33rd nationally in NCAA Division II women's volleyball. Along with being an outstanding defensive player for the Wildcats, Brundage has a career-high 33 service aces on the season, averaging 0.38 aces per set, as well as 70 assists this season. A six-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week, Brundage has tallied 20+ digs in nine matches this season, including a season-high 27 digs against Ohio Dominican on Sept. 9. In her 24-dig performance against New Haven on Sept. 16, Brundage totaled her 1,000th career dig. With 1,291 total digs in her four-year Daemen career, she ranks 10th all-time in the Daemen record books for total digs, and currently ranks fifth all-time with a career 4.44 digs per set. Brundage is still the only Daemen player to ever be named ECC Libero of the Year.

Charlotte Koerber, a 6-foot outside hitter, is the first Daemen player to earn ECC Rookie of the Year since Bailey Dolegowski in 2016. A six-time ECC Rookie of the Week, Koerber shined in her first season as a Wildcat, leading the team and ranking fourth in the league in both total kills (287) and kills per set (3.54). Her .262 hitting percentage ranks seventh in the ECC, and she ranks fourth in the league with 0.49 aces per set after totaling 40 aces on the year (tied for third). A weapon on both offense and defense, Koerber ranks second on the team with 237 total digs (2.93 digs per set) and has totaled 11 double-doubles (kills-digs) this season. She tallied a career-high 21 digs this season in Daemen's 3-0 rout over New Haven on Sept. 16, and posted a career-high 17 digs in the Wildcats' close 3-2 loss to Gannon on Oct. 18. Starting in 24 matches this season, Koerber has at least one service ace in all but five matches.

2022 ECC Player of the Year Maggie Burns is back in the spotlight for her fifth and final season, picking up First Team All-ECC honors for the second straight season. Starting in 22 matches this season, the 5-foot-9 outside hitter ranks third on the team offensively with 206 kills (10th in the league) to average 2.75 kills per set (9th in the league). This season, Burns became the fourth player in Daemen history to total 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, posting her 1,000th dig against Gannon on Oct. 18 and notching her 1,000th kill in her second-to-last regular season home match against Molloy on Nov. 5. She ranks third on the team with 205 digs (2.73 digs/set) and has added 24 aces, 18 blocks this season and 407 receptions for a .948 reception percentage. The fifth year outside hitter has posted seven double-doubles in 2023 and earned ECC Player of the Week three times this season.

Giselle Giraud, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter/right side, was named to the All-ECC First Team for the first time in her career after picking up Honorable Mention honors last season. An offensive unit in her second season with the Wildcats, Giraud ranks second on the team and fifth in the league with 265 kills and ranks seventh in the ECC in kills per set (3.05). Her impressive .358 hitting percentage leads the team and ranks second in the ECC after totaling 265 kills with just 69 errors on 548 total attacks. She has posted a .600 or better hitting percentage in four matches this season. Giraud posted a career-high 24 kills in Daemen's five set victory over Molloy on Sept. 24. Appearing in 26 matches with 25 starts for the Wildcats this season, the senior ranks second on the team with 41 total blocks, contributing 37 assisted blocks and four solo blocks this season for an average of 0.47 blocks per set. Giraud earned ECC Player of the Week once this season.

Dunja Masic, a 5-foot-9 senior setter, earns Second Team All-ECC honors for the first time in her four year Daemen career. Making 20 starts in 21 matches, Masic led the team with 592 total assists, averaging 8.22 assists per set (fifth in the ECC). The senior tallied her 1,000th career assist in her career-high 53-assist performance as the Wildcats topped Molloy 3-2 on Sept. 24. Masic totaled 40 service aces on the year for a league-high 0.56 aces per set, tallying an ace in all but two matches this season and posting multiple aces in 12 matches, including a career-high six against Fayetteville State on Sept. 1. Daemen ran a two-setter approach with 2022 ECC Co-Setter of the Year Olivia Alessi for much of this season, and Masic and Alessi helped run the Wildcat offense to a league-high 1,643 kills on the year. Masic was named the ECC Setter of the Week twice this season.

Vanessa Kuliga, a 6-foot middle blocker, picks up all-conference honors for the second straight season, earning Honorable Mention All-ECC for her senior season. The only player to start all 27 matches this season, Kuliga continues to be a force for the Wildcats, totaling 155 kills (1.68 kills per set) for a .266 hitting percentage. Kuliga leads Daemen at the net with 53 total blocks (7th in the ECC) to average 0.58 blocks per set, and ranks third on the team with 25 service aces. She totaled a block in 23 of the 27 matches this season, including a career-high seven blocks against Saint Rose on Oct. 14. Kuliga posted a season-high 12 kills against St. Thomas Aquinas on Oct. 22 for a season-high .688 hitting percentage.

Daemen's all-conference honorees will return to postseason action this weekend at the ECC Championship Tournament. The top-seeded Wildcats will face fourth-seeded Queens on Friday (Nov. 17) at 5 PM in the first of two ECC Championship semifinal matches at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus. Second-seeded Molloy will face third-seeded Mercy in the other semifinal. The two semifinal winners will meet Saturday (Nov. 18) to play for the 2023 ECC Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. 

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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.

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