Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Open East Regional Play Against AIC On Thursday

Daemen and AIC Meet In The NCAA Div. II East Regional For The Fourth Time

11/28/2023 10:46:00 AM

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

TOURNAMENT TIME
For the third consecutive season, the Daemen University women's volleyball team is headed to the NCAA Division II East Regional. As the No. 5 seed in the eight-team regional tournament, the 24-5 Wildcats will open NCAA Tournament play against a familiar opponent in No. 4 American International College in the quarterfinal match on Thursday. AIC enters the tournament with a 16-10 overall record. Daemen is making its' fifth NCAA Tournament appearance (2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023), while the Yellowjackets are making their third straight trip to the East Regional and sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last decade. The entire East Regional is being held at the Center for Recreation and Sport on the campus of top-seeded Adelphi in Garden City, N.Y.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Second-year head coach Eli Irizarry led the Wildcats to their third consecutive East Coast Conference Tournament Championship last weekend. Daemen went a perfect 6-0 in sets throughout the tournament, topping Queens 3-0 in the semifinal and cruising to a 3-0 win over Molloy in the championship match. Fifth year senior Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the ECC Tournament after totaling 19 kills and 26 digs on the weekend. The Wildcats are the winners of three consecutive ECC Tournament and ECC regular season titles after posting their third straight undefeated conference record (12-0) in regular season play.

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 EAST REGION TOURNAMENT
The Wildcats are no stranger to the postseason, and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in the last six seasons (the NCAA did not hold postseason play during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season) and five times overall, coming in with a 5-3 overall record in NCAA Tournament matches. Daemen put together a run for the ages in the 2021 season as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional, topping No. 7 seed Bentley 3-2 in the quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Stonehill 3-1 in the semifinals, and upsetting top-seeded AIC 3-1 to win the program's first ever East Region championship and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. Seven Daemen players on the 2023 squad -- Olivia Alessi, Kate Ryan, Vanessa Kuliga, Amelia Armstrong, Maggie Burns, Jasmine Brundage and Dunja Masic -- along with Daemen grad assistant Allison Post were on that record-breaking 2021 Elite Eight team, and are eager to return the Wildcats to the top of the regional tournament once again. Irizarry was the Wildcats' GA during the 2021 season. The Wildcats fell to Saint Anselm 0-3 in the 2022 East Region quarterfinal match.

THE WILDCATS (24-5)
Daemen enters the East Region Tournament with a 24-5 overall record with the No. 5 seed in the tournament after winning their third consecutive ECC Tournament at Lumsden Gym on Nov. 18. This is the third season that the Wildcats posted 20-plus wins, and they enter the NCAA Tournament riding a seven-match win streak. Daemen led the ECC leaders in kills, kills/set, hitting percentage, assists/set, digs/set and service aces this season, with eight players ranking in the top-10 in different statistical categories across the league. As the 2023 ECC Rookie of the Year, Koerber leads the Wildcats with 311 total kills for a team-high 3.53 kills per set along with a team-high 44 aces (0.50 aces/set) and ranks second on the team with 261 digs (2.97 digs/set). Brundage, the 2023 Libero of the Year, leads the league with 473 digs (4.98 digs/set). First Team All-ECC outside hitter Giraud ranks second in the ECC with a .357 hitting percentage and second on the team with 290 total kills (3.09 kills/set). First Team All-ECC outside hitter Burns became the fourth player in Daemen history to total 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, and after seven double-doubles this season, ranks third on the team in kills (225), digs (231) and blocks (21). Second Team All-ECC setter Masic leads the Wildcats with 641 assists (8.11 assists/set) and leads the league with 0.52 aces/set (41 total). Honorable Mention All-ECC middle hitter Kuliga is the only Wildcat to play in all 29 sets on the year and totals 166 kills for a .269 hitting percentage and a team-high 60 blocks (0.61 blocks/set).

THE YELLOWJACKETS (16-10)
American International enters their third straight NCAA Tournament with a 16-10 overall record as the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The Yellowjackets dropped their NE-10 quarterfinal match 3-2 to Southern New Hampshire on Nov. 14, and are 2-2 in the last four matches that they've played, including a 0-3 loss to Mercy on Nov. 9. For the first time since 2018 the perennial powerhouse Yellowjackets are not the East Region host team, finishing the 2023 regular season with a 9-2 NE10 record after dropping matches to New Haven and Bentley. AIC placed five players on NE10 All-Conference teams, with junior middle blocker Aleksandra Ivanovic earning First Team honors after leading the conference in attack percentage (.500), ranking second in total blocks (44) and leading the NE10 with 162 points in conference play. Junior middle blocker Amber Williams and junior setter Alice Di Francesco each earned Second Team honors, with Williams hitting at a .375 clip with 121 kills and 28 blocks in conference play, and Di Francesco totaling 435 assists, 21 aces and 128 digs. 2022 All-Region outside hitter Paola Soto-Burgos earned Third Team All-Conference, while freshman outside hitter Claudia Flores Marrero was named to the All-Rookie team.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the fourth time in program history that the Wildcats and Yellowjackets meet in the postseason. Daemen fell to AIC in the 2016 East Region finals and in the 2018 quarterfinals, and topped the Yellowjackets in the 2021 East Region championship to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the first time. The Wildcats and Yellowjackets squared off in the 2022 regular season at the East Region Clash where AIC squeaked out a 3-2 victory over Daemen. AIC owns a 5-2 record over the Cats all-time.

UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal will advance to play the winner of No. 1 seed Adelphi/No. 8 seed Bridgeport in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 PM.

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 University women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.

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