Women's Volleyball Opens 2023 Season At Clarion Tournament

8/30/2023 10:50:00 AM

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

AMHERST, N.Y. -- The Daemen University women's volleyball team opens up the 2023 season this weekend on the road at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament hosted by Clarion University. Daemen will play four matches during the tournament, starting with Thursday's season opener against the host Golden Eagles at 5 PM. The Wildcats will play a pair of matches against Shippensburg and Fayetteville State on Saturday at 11 AM and 3 PM, respectively, before wrapping up the tournament with a 4 PM match against Lake Erie on Saturday afternoon.

THE WILDCATS
The back-to-back defending East Coast Champion Wildcats sit atop the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll for the second consecutive season. In the 2022 season, Daemen put together their second straight undefeated record through conference play (10-0), and have won 23 consecutive ECC regular season matches. Daemen advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second year in a row, and finished the 2022 season with a 20-6 overall record after falling to Saint Anselm in the East Region quarterfinals.

The Wildcats field an experienced squad in 2023, returning 11 players and 6 of the 7 starters from last season's successful team. Daemen returns five players that earned All-Conference honors last season, including reigning ECC Player of the Year Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.), who earned AVCA All-Region accolades and was named the 2023 ECC Preseason Player of the Year after leading the league in kills per set (3.33) in 2022. Seniors Vanessa Kuliga (Glenview, Ill.) and Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) return as heavy hitters from last season, while Kuliga led the team with a .330 hitting percentage (second in ECC), at the service line with 31 aces, and at the net with 41 total blocks. Seniors Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) and Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) picked up All-ECC honors for the second straight season last year, with Alessi earning ECC Co-Setter of the Year.

TOURNAMENT TIME
This is the first of three consecutive tournaments the Wildcats will play in to open the season. Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium next weekend (Sept. 8-9) to host the Wildcat Den Classic presented by Ellicott Hotels, then hits the road for the Adelphi Volleyball Tournament for four matches on Sept. 14-15 on Long Island.

THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Clarion put together a 28-5 season that ended in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship game during the 2022 season, and returns a significant portion of their wildly successful '22 squad. All-American setter London Fuller, who was voted the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Athlete of the Year and earned Atlantic Region Player of the Year by both the AVCA and D2CCA, set the Golden Eagles to an average of 14.37 kills per set in 2022 (fourth in the country). All-region outside hitters Cassidy Snider and Julia Piccolino are offensive weapons for the Golden Eagles, along with starting libero Abigail Selfridge, who has racked up over 1,000 digs in two seasons with Clarion. The Golden Eagles are predicted to finish second in the PSAC West.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday will be the fifth time the Wildcats and Golden Eagles have squared off on the court, with Clarion owning a 4-0 record in the series. Daemen fell to Clarion 3-1 in their second match of the season in 2022 at the Wildcat Den Classic.

THE RAIDERS
Coming off an 18-12 season in 2022, Shippensburg comes into the 2023 campaign with 12 returners and six freshmen. The Raiders are without a pair of All-PSAC middle blockers this season, including their top offensive weapon. Two 200-plus hitters in Kat Negron and Maddie Clabaugh are back for Shippensburg this season, along with defensive specialist Erica Lampus, who totaled 423 digs (3.85 digs/set) during 2022.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Raiders have met just once, back in 2007 with Shippensburg winning the match 3-0.

THE BRONCOS
Fayetteville State went 16-10 overall on the year with a 14-2 record through Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play before falling in the conference semifinals. The Broncos return their top offensive weapon from 2022 in senior outside hitter Casandra Watson who played in all 26 matches and tallied 197 kills (2.10 kills/set). Without their top blocker from 2022, FSU returns senior middle blocker Anjola Thomas who racked up 42 total blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first time in program history that the Wildcats and Broncos will meet.

THE STORM
Lake Erie put together just a 3-25 record with one Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) win in 2022, but come into the 2023 campaign with a roster featuring 11 seniors. Senior right side Dora Olah returns for the Storm after leading the team with 232 kills (2.73 kills/set), along with sophomore middle Jessica Ickes who totaled 87 blocks for Lake Erie in 2022. The Storm are ranked T-11 in the G-MAC preseason poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Lake Erie owns a 3-1 record over the Wildcats since the first meeting in 2008, and has been the winner of the past three matches. The last time the Wildcats and Storm faced off was Aug. 25, 2018, where Lake Erie was victorious 3-0 at Lumsden Gymnasium.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will head back to Lumsden Gymnasium for their home opening tournament next weekend. Daemen will play three matches during the Wildcat Den Classic presented by Ellicott Hotels, squaring off against California (Pa.) on Friday, Sept. 8 and then a double-header on Saturday, Sept. 9 against Davis & Elkins and Ohio Dominican.

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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