Women's Volleyball Plays At Southern Connecticut State Friday; Opens ECC Play This Weekend

9/21/2023 11:30:00 AM

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

AMHERST, N.Y. -- The Daemen University women's volleyball team continues to be road warriors as they face three matches this upcoming weekend. Daemen will play at Southern Connecticut State on Friday night in a non-conference match at 6 PM before opening East Coast Conference play on Saturday with a noon match at Queens. The Wildcats wrap up the weekend with a trip to Molloy at 12 PM on Sunday. Daemen comes into the weekend with a 7-4 overall record.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats split the weekend at the Adelphi Volleyball Tournament with a 2-2 record, sweeping Wilmington and New Haven in a pair of 3-0 matches but falling to Quincy 1-3 and host Adelphi 0-3 in the first and fourth matches of the weekend. On the weekend, Daemen freshman Charlotte Koerber (Munich, Germany) and Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.) led the team offensively, with Koerber totaling 56 kills (4.67 kills/set) and Burns finishing with 45 (3.5 kills/set). Koerber tallied two double-doubles in four matches, and Burns posted her second double-double of the year against New Haven. Senior libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) posted a team-high 82 digs (6.31 digs per set), tallying 20+ digs in three of the four matches on the weekend. Koerber and Brundage earned ECC weekly awards for their performances, with Koerber picking up her second ECC Player of the Week nod and Brundage being named ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this season. The Wildcats have been represented in all three weekly awards this year.

CAN YOU DIG IT
In her 24-dig performance against New Haven, Brundage got her 1,000th career dig on Saturday. The senior libero has 1,030 total digs in her four year Daemen career, and is just 190 digs away from breaking into Daemen's top-10 record book for total digs. Her 4.36 digs per set average currently sits fifth all-time in the Daemen record books. On the season, Brundage leads the team and the ECC with 180 digs, and she is averaging a league-high 5.45 digs per set.

CONFERENCE HERE WE COME
This weekend, the Wildcats enter into their 10th season playing in the ECC. The back-to-back ECC regular and tournament champions have compiled an 88-43 overall conference record through the nine seasons they have played. In that time, Daemen has won four ECC regular season titles, three ECC Tournament titles, and two consecutive undefeated conference records in 2021 and 2022. The Wildcats have won 23 straight conference matches, losing their last ECC regular season match on Nov. 10, 2019.

THE OWLS
After a 17-15 season in 2022 that ended in the NE-10 semifinals, Southern Connecticut State comes into Friday's match with a 7-5 record, riding a three-game win streak with wins over Post, Assumption and Queens. The Owls return nine players from the 2022 roster, including senior outside hitter Sara Enright who leads the team with 120 kills (2.86 kills/set), 117 digs (2.79 digs/set) and 25 aces (0.60 aces/set). Freshman outside hitter Carissa Michel adds offensive depth to the SGSU roster, racking up 91 kills (2.22 kills/set) and 19 aces. Freshman middle blocker Sarah Stark has 28 total blocks on the year, and has tallied a block in 11 of the 12 matches she's played in this season.

SERIES RECORD
The Wildcats and Owls have played three matches since 2016, with Daemen owning a 2-1 record over SCSU. The Owls won the last meeting in a 3-1 victory over Daemen on Sept. 26, 2021.

THE KNIGHTS
Last season, Queens compiled a 12-13 record and advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2008, falling to Molloy in the ECC semifinals. The Knights finished the 2022 regular season over .500 record in conference play for the first time in 13 seasons, going 6-4 in ECC play, and were picked to finish fourth in the ECC Preseason Coaches Poll. Queens comes into Saturday's conference opener with Daemen with a 6-3 record, dropping their last two matches against Pace and SCSU. The Knights average 12 kills per set on the year, with sophomore outside hitter Kendall Conrad leading the way with 117 kills (3.25 kills/set). Senior right side Alexis Deodat, who earned Second Team All-ECC honors last year, has 60 kills on the season and leads the team with 26 total blocks (0.72 blocks/set). Junior outside hitter Christina Franco picked up All-ECC Honorable Mention in 2022 and ranks second on the team with 93 kills (2.58 kills/set).

SERIES RECORD
Daemen owns a 14-4 series record over Queens, with the Wildcats winning the last eight matches against the Knights.

THE LIONS
Molloy was picked second in the ECC Preseason Coaches Poll before the 2023 season, tied with Mercy in the No. 2 spot behind the Wildcats. The Lions posted a 16-12 record in 2022, and fell to the Wildcats 0-3 in the ECC Championship match at Lumsden Gymnasium. Molloy advanced to the East Regional as the eight seed in the region where they would fall 0-3 to top-seeded AIC in the quarterfinals. This season, the Lions packed a tough non-conference schedule, and come into the ECC opening weekend with a 3-7 overall record, with recent losses to 2022 AIC, Bentley and Saint Anselm, who all played in the 2022 East Regional. The Lions are led offensively by 2022 First Team All-ECC selection senior outside hitter Kiarra Roth with 117 kills (3.44 kills/set). 6-foot senior middle blocker Colleen Moulder is another offensive weapon for the Lions with 70 kills (2.06 kills/set). Molloy is without 2022 ECC Rookie of the Year Kaitlin Jordan who transferred to play at Davenport this season.

SERIES RECORD
The Wildcats own a 17-5 overall record over Molloy, and are riding a six game win streak, all 3-0 victories for the Wildcats, in the history of the series dating back to September 2021.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return home to Lumsden Gymnasium for the first time since the Wildcat Den Classic (Sept. 8-9) on Wednesday, Sept. 27 when they play host to longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan in a 6 PM 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.

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