AMHERST, N.Y. – One day after clinching their third consecutive East Coast Conference regular season title, the Daemen University women's volleyball team extended their conference win streak to 34 matches with a thrilling 3-2 (25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 17-25, ) five-set victory over Molloy University on Sunday morning. With the win, the Wildcats move to 21-5 on the year and 11-0 in ECC play, while dropping the Lions to 12-13 overall and 7-4 in conference matches.
Fifth year outside hitter
Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) needed just one kill – which she tallied in the first set – in today's match to join the exclusive 1,000 kill club. She also totaled 1,000 career digs earlier this season. Burns becomes the 10
th player in Daemen program history to total 1,000 kills.
Four Wildcats totaled double-digit kills on the day and out-killed the Lions 63 to 59 in the match.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- For the second straight match, junior Kate Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with 16 kills while hitting at a .276 clip. Ryan totaled 16.5 points in the win.
- Burns finished with 15 kills for a .220 hitting percentage and added eight digs and three aces for a team-high 18 points.
- Freshman outside hitter Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) posted her 11th double-doubled today, totaling 10 kills and 12 digs.
- Senior right side Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) posted 13 kills for a .250 hitting percentage along with five digs, one solo block and three assisted blocks on the day.
- The Wildcats ran with two setters today with the senior duo of Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) and Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) combining for 49 assists. Alessi finished with 25 assists and six digs, while Masic totaled 24 assists, six digs, one ace and one kill.
- Senior libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) posted 24 digs, three assists and two aces.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions opened the match on a 5-2 run. After the Wildcats trailed 11-8, Daemen went on an 8-2 run of their own to take a four-point lead late in the set. The Wildcats held on to take the first 25-23.
- Daemen jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the second and held onto a lead all the way through to the end of the set, taking it 25-18 after totaling 16 second-set kills.
- Molloy led by as much as 16-8 in the third, but the Wildcats scored seven unanswered points to make it a one-point game. Daemen and Molloy traded points through to the end, but the Lions took the third 25-22 to force a fourth set.
- In a back-and-forth set, the Lions went on an eight-point run and took the fourth 25-17 to send this game to five sets.
- The Cats opened the fifth with a 6-3 lead, but the Lions crawled back with five unanswered points to take a two-point lead. Daemen and Molloy traded points
GAME NOTES
- The Wildcats have won eight straight matches against the Lions. Daemen owns a 19-5 overall record over the Lions.
- Daemen and Molloy played five sets in both matches this season.
UP NEXT
Daemen will host crosstown rival D'Youville on Thursday at 6PM in their regular season finale. Four Wildcats and Team IMPACT player
Ava Hackett will be recognized in Senior Night honors prior to the start of the 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.
Follow the Daemen University women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.
