AMHERST, N.Y. – The top-seeded Daemen Wildcats advance to their third consecutive East Coast Conference title game after a 3-1 (26-24, 25-16, 25-27, 25-16) victory over the Queens Knights tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.
 
In the first of two ECC semifinal matches, the Wildcat offense prevailed, with Daemen out-killing Queens 62 to 41 and finishing with a .259 hitting percentage on the day. Three Wildcats tallied double-digit kills in the win, as senior Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) finished with a match-high 16 kills.
 
The Wildcats move to 23-5 on the year with the victory and will play the winner of the second semifinal, second-seeded Molloy and third-seeded Mercy, in the ECC Championship match on Saturday at 5 PM at Lumsden.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS

• First Team All-ECC senior right side Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) posted 16 kills while hitting at a .355 clip. Giraud added two assisted blocks, one solo block and five digs for a match-high 18 points. Giraud has posted double-digit kills in each of the last five matches. 
• ECC Rookie of the Year Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) tallied her 12^th double-double (kills-digs) as she totaled 13 kills for a .393 hitting percentage on the day. She also tallied two aces, two assists, two assisted blocks, one solo blocks and 16 digs.
• First Team All-ECC fifth year senior outside hitter Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) finished with 10 kills, eight digs, two assists, two assisted blocks, and one solo block for 12 points.
• ECC Libero of the Year Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) totaled a match-high 20 digs (5.0 digs/set) and added six assists and one ace on the day.
• Junior right side Kate Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished with nine kills, three assisted blocks and one dig on the day.
• Second Team All-ECC senior setter Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) and senior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) combined for 45 assists, with Masic totaling 26 and adding one kill and four digs. Alessi posted 19 assists, one kill, eight digs and an ace.
• Honorable Mention All-ECC senior middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) finished with seven kills for a .357 hitting percentage, four assisted blocks, one solo block, one ace, one assist and a dig. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The first set was back and forth from the start. After a 13-13 game, Queens went on a 7-2 run to take a four-point lead over the Wildcats, 19-15. After being down 23-20, the Wildcats went on a 5-1 run to take a 25-24 lead after three big Daemen kills and finished off the set with a huge kill from Ryan to take the electrifying first set, 26-24.
• The Wildcats posted 19 kills for a .342 hitting percentage in the first. Giraud led the Cats offensively with six kills.
• Daemen went on the offensive from the jump in the second set and led by as much as eight points (20-12). The Wildcats won three of the final four points to win the second set 25-16.
• Giraud, Koerber and Ryan each tallied three kills as the Wildcats out-hit Queens 14-9 while hitting at a .313 clip in the second. Daemen tallied five blocks in the set.
• The third set was all runs. Queens and Daemen traded points to open the third, but after the game was tied at 12, the Knights went on a 9-3 run to take a 20-15 lead. The Wildcats made it a three-point game, 23-20, after trailing by six late in the set. On Queens' set point, Daemen won the next four points, but the Knights squeaked out the late victory, 25-27, to send it to four.
• Daemen totaled 14 kills in the third, with Giraud leading the way with four kills in the set.
• Queens opened the fourth set on an 8-3 run, but the Cats put together a 13-1 run of their own to take a 20-12 lead. Daemen scored three of the final four points in the set to take the fourth, 25-16. 

GAME NOTES

• Six Wildcats earned All-Conference honors this week, and two players – Jasmine Brundage and Charlotte Koerber – took home major awards. Brundage was named the 2023 ECC Libero of the Year for the second time in her career, and Koerber earned ECC Rookie of the Year. This marked the third straight season that the Wildcats placed six on the All-Conference teams.
• Daemen won their third consecutive ECC regular-season title to earn the top seed and hosting privileges for the tournament.
• Tonight's matchup was the 21^st all-time between Daemen and Queens. The Wildcats won 10 straight coming into the game.
• Nine of the last ten meetings between the Wildcats and Knights ended in 3-0 sweeps by Daemen.
• Daemen is 8-2 all-time in the ECC Championship Tournament.
• The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the East Region in the latest NCAA Division II Regional Rankings. The rankings determine the at-large bids for the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament. 

UP NEXT 
The Wildcats are in the hunt for their third consecutive ECC Tournament title and trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The winner of the tournament will receive the ECC's automatic bid to the East Region 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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