Wildcats Eye Third Straight ECC Tournament Title On Saturday Evening

11/17/2023 10:42:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

TOURNAMENT TIME
The top-seeded Daemen University women's volleyball team looks for their third consecutive East Coast Conference Tournament Championship as they host the ECC Tournament title game at Lumsden Gymnasium for the third season in a row. The Wildcats will play second-seed Molloy University in the championship game on Saturday at 5 PM. Tickets are required for entry and can be purchased through the ECC Online Ticket Portal.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
After winning their third consecutive ECC regular season crown with a perfect 12-0 record conference, Daemen earned the top seed and hosting privileges in the conference tournament. The Wildcats topped fourth-seeded Queens College 3-1 on Friday night in the first of two semifinal matches to win their seventh straight game and move to a 23-5 overall record on the year. Three Daemen players notched double-digit kills in the win, with First Team All-ECC senior right side Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) leading all hitters with 16 kills. ECC Rookie of the Year Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) finished with 13 kills, while First Team All-ECC fifth year outside hitter Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) posted 10 kills in the win. The Wildcats out-hit Queens 62-41 and posted a .289 hitting percentage in the victory to punch their ticket to the ECC Tournament Championship match for the third straight season and the fifth time in program history.

WHAT'S AT STAKE
The ECC Tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division II Championship tournament. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced during the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship section show Monday at 7:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Wildcats are looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season, and fifth all-time. With their 3-0 victory over Molloy in the 2022 ECC Championship match, Daemen became the first team to repeat as ECC tournament champions for the first time since Bridgeport's four consecutive ECC Championship victories from 2012-15.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Two Wildcats earned major awards and six Daemen players earned All-ECC honors for their outstanding play in the 2023 season. Senior libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) was named the 2023 ECC Libero of the Year after leading the league all season in digs (441) and digs per set (5.01). Named ECC Rookie of the Week six times this season, freshman outside hitter Charlotte Koerber earned 2023 ECC Rookie of the Year after a stellar freshman campaign where she tallied team-highs in kills (287) and kills per set (3.54). Koerber is the first Wildcat to be named Rookie of the Year since Bailey Dolegowski earned ECC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2016. Fifth year outside hitter Maggie Burns, senior right side Giselle Giraud, Brundage and Koerber were all named to the ECC First Team, senior setter Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) earned ECC Second Team honors, and senior middle blocker Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) picked up ECC Honorable Mention. The Wildcats placed six on the All-ECC teams for the third straight season.

DAEMEN IN THE ECC TOURNAMENT
The Wildcats are making their third straight appearance in the ECC Championship final and and sixth overall appearance in the ECC tournament. After going 13-1 in conference play to win their first ECC regular season title, Daemen made its first ever ECC Tournament appearance in 2016 but fell to New York Institute of Technology in the finals. The Wildcats returned to host the tournament in 2018 and beat Molloy 3-1 for their first ever ECC Tournament title. Daemen lost to Bridgeport in the 2019 semifinals, and the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wildcats hosted the tournament in 2021 and 2022 and hoisted the trophy both years, topping Bridgeport 3-2 in the '21 championship for their second title, and beating Molloy 3-0 last season for their third tournament championship. The Wildcats own a 8-2 overall record in ECC Tournament matches.

MOLLOY IN THE ECC TOURNAMENT
The Lions are making their sixth straight trip to the ECC Tournament and second straight appearance in the championship match. Molloy is on the hunt for their third ECC Tournament title after taking home the hardware in 2017 with a win over Daemen and 2019 after topping Bridgeport. The Lions lost in the 2022 championship to Daemen, 3-0, at Lumsden Gymnasium.

THE WILDCATS (23-5)
Daemen comes into the ECC Championship with a 23-5 overall record after posting a perfect 12-0 record in conference play for the third straight season. The Wildcats have won 20-plus games for the last three years, and enter the postseason riding a six-match win streak with their last loss of the season on Oct. 18 in a five-set thriller at Gannon. Daemen leads the league with 1,643 kills, averaging 17.3 kills per set for a league-high .234 hitting percentage. Daemen leads all ECC teams with 12.27 assists/set (1,166 total assists), 16.17 digs per set (1,536 total), and 218 total service aces (2.29 aces/set) on the year. Koerber ranks fourth in the ECC in kills per set (3.54) and total kills (287), seventh with a .262 hitting percentage and ranks fourth in the league with 0.49 service aces per set. Brundage leads the league with 441 total digs for a league-high 5.01 digs per set. Giraud ranks second in the ECC with a .358 hitting percentage, fifth in the ECC with 265 total kills and seventh with 3.05 kills/set. Burns ranks eighth in the league with 2.75 kills/set, Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) ranks eighth in the ECC with a .255 hitting percentage, and Kuliga ranks sixth with a .266 hitting percentage. Masic leads the ECC with 0.56 aces per set, and ranks fifth in the league with 8.22 assists per set. Senior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) ranks eighth in the league with 6.27 assists/set. Daemen has totaled 15 3-0 sweeps over opponents this season, with nine of those sweeps coming against conference opponents this season. The Wildcats were picked atop the 2023 ECC preseason coaches' poll. Head coach Eli Irizarry is in his second season at the helm of the team.

THE LIONS (14-13)
Second-seeded Molloy is playing in their second straight ECC Championship game and are looking for their third ECC Tournament title. The Lions entered their sixth straight ECC Championship Tournament after going 13-13 in the regular season record and posting an 8-4 record in league play. The Lions posted a 3-1 victory over Mercy in the second ECC semifinal match on Friday to advance to their fifth ever tournament title game. The Lions are led by senior outside hitter Kiarra Roth and graduate student Chye Davis who each picked up First Team All-ECC honors after leading the league in kills and blocks, respectively. Davis posted a league-high 67 blocks (0.93 blocks per set) during the regular season, and ranks fifth in the league with a .288 hitting percentage. Roth totaled 335 kills during the regular season, averaging 3.60 kills per set (fourth in the league), just ahead of Koerber. Head coach Brian Smith who was named the 2023 ECC Coach of the Year. Molloy enters the postseason ranked 10th in the NCAA East Regional rankings.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 19-5 overall record over Molloy and have won the last eight matches with the Lions. Each of the two games Daemen and Molloy played this season went to five sets, with the Wildcats narrowly outlasting the Lions in both matches. Daemen beat Molloy 3-0 in the 2022 ECC Championship 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.

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