Navraj Sandhu

Wildcats To Face Bentley In East Region Finals On Championship Saturday

12/2/2023 5:27:00 PM | By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY
For the third time in program history, the Daemen University women's volleyball team will be playing in the NCAA Division II East Region Finals. Fifth-seed Daemen will face third-seed Bentley in the regional championship match on Saturday at 7 PM in Garden City, N.Y. at Adelphi's Center for Sport and Recreation. The Wildcats enter Saturday's Region Finals with a 26-4 overall record riding a 10-match win streak, while the Falcons come in at 24-6 on the year.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals after topping American International College 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19) victory over fourth-seeded American International College on Thursday night where a pair of First Team All-East Coast Conference players in Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) and Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) posted 12 and 11 kills respectively. Daemen put together a 46-kill performance on 149 attacks to finish with a .128 hitting percentage in the quarterfinal victory.

Daemen then punched their ticket to the finals after upsetting top-seeded Adelphi 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23) in the East Region semifinals on Friday night. The Wildcats and Panthers played close throughout the entire match, but Daemen's hitting was the difference across the board as the Cats out-hit Adelphi in every set to finish with an impressive 66 kills on 174 attacks for a .224 hitting percentage. Daemen held Adelphi to 44 kills on 156 attacks while hitting at a .186 in the loss. East Coast Conference Rookie of the Year Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) led all hitters with 20 kills and 17 digs (4.25 kills/set) while hitting at a .395 in the win for her 12th double-double of the season. Senior right side 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.

WHAT'S AT STAKE
As one of the final sixteen teams playing in the NCAA Division II Tournament, the Wildcats are playing for the chance to win their second East Region title and a trip to the Elite Eight for the second time since 2021. The 2023 NCAA Tournament will be held in Moon Township, Pa. at the UPMC Events Center on Dec. 7-9. 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.

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.

ALL-REGION HONORS
Jasmine Brundage and Charlotte Koerber were named to the 14-player American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region Team on Wednesday ahead of this weekend's NCAA Tournaments. This marked the first time in each players' careers that they earned AVCA All-Region honors. Koerber was also named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-East Region Second Team on Wednesday afternoon after a stellar freshman campaign.

THE WILDCATS (26-5)
Coming into Saturday's championship with a 26-5 record, the Wildcats posted the most single-season wins in the Daemen's NCAA era (2015-present) and the most wins since the 2012 season when they finished as USCAA National Champions with a 27-10 record. Daemen entered 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 Saturday's regional championship riding a 10-match win streak. The Wildcats' previous two 25-win seasons were in 2016 and 2021, each season they advanced to play in the East Region Championship game. 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 340 total kills for a team-high 3.54 kills per set along with a team-high 47 aces (0.49 aces/set) and ranks second on the team with 292 digs (3.04 digs/set). Brundage, the 2023 Libero of the Year, leads the league with 523 digs (5.08 digs/set). First Team All-ECC outside hitter Giraud ranks second in the ECC with a .359 hitting percentage and second on the team with 315 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 eight double-doubles this season, ranks third on the team in kills (245), digs (256) and blocks (26). Second Team All-ECC setter Masic leads the Wildcats with 764 assists (7.98 assists/set) and leads the league with 0.51 aces/set (44 total). Honorable Mention All-ECC middle hitter Kuliga is the only Wildcat to play in all 31 matches on the year and totals 176 kills for a .254 hitting percentage and a team-high 69 blocks (0.64 blocks/set).

THE FALCONS (24-6)
Earning the three-seed in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second season in a row, the Bentley Falcons come into the East Region Championships with a 24-6 overall record. Bentley advanced to the championship match after topping sixth-seed Southern New Hampshire 3-2 in the quarterfinals, and took down seventh-seed Mercy 3-1 on Friday in the first semifinal match. Coming in as the third Northeast-10 Conference team in the region, the Falcons fell to New Haven, 3-1, in the NE-10 championship match two weeks ago. Graduate outside hitter Ingrid Murphy and senior right side Ellie Wheeler earned AVCA All-East Region honorable mention in 2023. In Bentley's quarterfinal victory over SNHU, a trio of Falcons finished with double-digit kills, with Murphy totaling 17 kills and 18 digs, Wheeler posting 13 kills and Rachel Vitko finishing with 12 kills. Bentley libero Jazzy Burke posted 25 digs in the win. Murphy and Wheeler followed up their solid quarterfinal stats on Friday with more double-digit performance, as Murphy once again led the way with 16 kills while hitting at .371, Wheeler totaling 14 kills for a .367 hitting percentage, and Hannah Rounds posting 11 kills. Burke finished with 20 digs against Mercy.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 3-1 all-time against the Falcons, winning the last three matches against Bentley. The Cats topped the Falcons 3-2 in the 2021 East Region Quarterfinals.

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

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