GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Survive and advance!! In an extremely tight match, the fifth-seeded Daemen University women's volleyball team outlasted fourth-seed American International College 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19) in the NCAA Division II East Region quarterfinal match. Making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the 25-5 Wildcats advance to the East Region semifinals for the third time in program history (2016, 2021, 2023) where they will face the top-seeded Adelphi Panthers on Friday at 7:30 PM.
 
Led by a pair of First Team All-East Coast Conference players in Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) and Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.), the Wildcats put together a 46-kill performance on 149 attacks to finish with a .128 hitting percentage in the victory.
 
Daemen and AIC played tight throughout all four sets, with the largest margin of victory coming in the form of Daemen's six-point victory in the fourth set. The Wildcats finished with 10 service aces as three players finished with three aces a piece.


 
IMPACT PLAYERS

• Fifth year senior outside hitter Maggie Burns finished with a team-high 12 kills (3.0 kills/set) and 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. She added one solo block, three assisted blocks and an assist for a team-high 14.5 points.
• Senior right side Giselle Giraud finished with 11 kills (2.75 kills/set) on 27 attacks with zero errors for a match-high .407 hitting percentage. Giraud added four assisted blocks and a dig for 13 points on the night.
• Senior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) tallied her 2,000^th career assist tonight, finishing with 10 assists and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the year, while adding 3 aces and a kill to her stat line.
• Second Team All-ECC senior setter Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) totaled a team-high 23 assists (5.75 assists/set), nine digs, one kill and one ace on the night.
• ECC Libero of the Year Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) totaled a match-high 22 digs (5.5 digs/set) and added six assists and three aces.
• ECC Rookie of the Year Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) finished with nine kills and 14 digs for her 12^th double-double (kills-digs) of the season. The freshman standout totaled three aces, two assisted blocks and an assist.
• Senior middle Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) and junior middle Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) each posted five assisted blocks on the day. Kuliga added one solo block, five digs and a kill, while Armstrong added five kills for a .231 hitting percentage and three digs.
• Junior right side Kate Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.) posted six kills on 17 attacks and added an assisted block.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Wildcats climbed back from an early AIC lead after the Yellowjackets jumped out to an 11-6 advantage. Daemen went on a 7-2 run to tie the set up at 13. The Cats and Jackets traded points from there, and after trailing 21-19 late, Daemen won six of the last seven points after a slew of AIC errors to take the first, 25-22.
• Burns and Giraud led the way offensively with three kills each in the first set, while excellent serving by Koerber and Brundage at the line contributed to four of Daemen's five first-set aces.
• Much like the first set, Daemen came back from an early deficit. Down by three, 10-7, the Wildcats went on an 8-2 run to take a 14-12 lead over the Yellowjackets in the middle of the set. AIC and Daemen traded points for the rest of the set, and the Wildcats narrowly took the second set 25-23.
• Daemen out-hit AIC 15-9 in the second, with Burns (five) and Giraud (four) combining for nine of Daemen's second set kills. The Wildcats hit at a .257 clip in the set.
• AIC kept the game going with a 25-21 win in the third set to send this game to a fourth after knocking down 13 kills and holding Daemen to just six. After tying the game up at 18, AIC went on an 8-3 run to the end of the set, knocking down five kills in the process.
• The Wildcats opened the fourth set on fire, leading by as much as 14-8 over the Yellowjackets early. A 5-1 run down the stretch helped the Wildcats cruise to a victory in the set, taking the fourth 25-19.
• Daemen posted 14 kills with just five attack errors for a .225 hitting percentage in the fourth. Koerber led the Wildcats offensively in the fourth with four kills, followed by three Burns kills and two kills from Giraud, Armstrong and Ryan.

GAME NOTES

• Today's match marked the fourth time Daemen and AIC met in the postseason. The Wildcats earned their second straight East Regional victory over AIC, previously upsetting the top-ranked Yellowjackets in the 2021 East Region Final to punch the program's first ticket to the Elite Eight.
• Daemen earned their 25^th win of the season, tying a program-record for wins in the NCAA era (2015-present). The Wildcats' previous two 25-win seasons were in 2016 and 2021, each season they advanced to play in the East Region Championship game.
• Jasmine Brundage and Charlotte Koerber were each named to the 14-player AVCA All-East Region Team on Thursday. Koerber also earned D2CCA Second Team All-Region ahead of this weekend's 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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