GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – SWEET 16 BOUND!!! The fifth-seeded Daemen University women's volleyball team advance to their third NCAA Division II East Region Championship after upsetting top-seed Adelphi University on the Panthers' home court with a 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23) win in the semifinal match on Friday night. The Wildcats move to 26-5 on the year after winning their 10^th straight match of the season and their fourth consecutive postseason match. Adelphi's 2023 season comes to an end with a 26-7 overall record.
 
It was an evenly matched game from the start. The Wildcats and Panthers traded points early in each set, but the Wildcats' hitting was the difference across the board in this one. Daemen out-hit Adelphi in every set, setting the tone early after out-hitting the Panthers 18 to 8 in the first set. Daemen finished with an impressive 66 kills on 174 attacks for a .224 hitting percentage while holding Adelphi to 44 kills on 156 attacks while hitting at a .186 clip.
 
A pair of Wildcat hitters finished with double-digit kills, with the freshman phenom Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) leading all hitters with 20 kills. Senior outside hitter Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) added 14 kills in the win.

Daemen will play in the program's third East Region Final on Saturday where they will taking on third-seeded Bentley University at 7 PM.


 
IMPACT PLAYERS

• ECC Rookie of the Year Charlotte Koerber posted her 12^th double-double of the season with 20 kills (5.0 kills/set) and 17 digs (4.25 kills/set) while hitting at a .395 in the win. She added a solo block and an assisted block for a match-high 21.5 points on the day.
• Senior outside hitter Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 14 kills (3.5 kills/set) and just two errors on 34 attacks for a .353 hitting percentage while adding two digs and an assisted block.
• ECC Libero of the Year Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) ripped 28 digs (7.0 digs/set) and nine assists.
• Senior middle Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) finished with nine kills (2.25 kills/set) for a .208 hitting percentage, three digs, two assisted blocks and a solo block.
• Fifth year senior outside hitter Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) totaled eight kills, nine digs, three aces, an assisted block and an assist.
• Second Team All-ECC senior setter Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) posted 30 assists (7.5 assists/set) and six digs. Senior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) finished with 21 assists (5.25 assists/set), eight digs and one kill.
• Junior middle Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) finished with eight kills and just one error on 17 attacks for a team-high .412 hitting percentage and added two assisted blocks.
• Junior right side Kate Ryan (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished with six kills while hitting at a .235 clip along with three digs and an assisted block.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After trading points to open the first, the Wildcats went on an 11-1 run to take a 17-8 lead over the Panthers. Daemen held onto a large lead throughout the rest of the set, and despite Adelphi putting together a bit of a run late, the Wildcats cruised to a 25-19 first-set victory.
• Armstrong led the Wildcats with four first-set kills, while the trio of Giraud, Koerber and Ryan each tallied three kills in the set as the Wildcats out-hit Adelphi 18 to 8 for a .204 hitting percentage.
• The second set was full of runs. An Adelphi 4-1 run put them up 16-12, but the Wildcats responded with a 5-2 run of their own to make it a one-point game. From there, the Panthers scored seven of the last nine points to take the second set 25-19.
• The Wildcats out-hit the Panthers again in the second (15-13), but seven Wildcat attack errors was ultimately the difference in the set. Koerber led the way with five second-set kills for the Cats.
• Adelphi led by as much as 17-13 in the middle of the set, but a pair of Panther errors along with two kills and an ace by the Wildcats brought Daemen on top again. In the final 11 points of the set, Koerber posted three huge kills down the stretch accompanied by a kill from Giraud to seal the deal for Daemen, 25-22 in the third.
• Daemen hit 15 kills on 36 attacks for a .222 clip in the third. Koerber accounted for six of Daemen's kills in the set.
• The fourth set was electric from the jump! The Wildcats and Panthers went point-for-point for the first 16 points of the set until Adelphi went on a 5-1 run to lead the Cats 20-16. Daemen won the next four points to tie the game at 20, and from there it was a race to the end. With Adelphi up 23-22, the Wildcats won the final three points off kills from Koerber and Giraud and an Adelphi attack error to win the final set 25-23 and the match, 3-1.

GAME NOTES

• Today's match marked the third East Region semifinal for the Wildcats in program history. The Wildcats won both previous regional semifinals (2016 and 2021) that they have played in.
• The Wildcats move to 3-2 overall in the series history over the Panthers, snapping Adelphi's two-match win streak. Adelphi beat Daemen 3-0 on Sept. 16 in the Wildcats' third weekend of the season 
• Daemen earned their 25^th win of the season in their 3-1 win over AIC on Thursday night to tie 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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