AMHERST, N.Y. – 3-0 on the day, 3-0 in East Coast Conference play!
The Daemen University women's volleyball team topped longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 27-25) in a midweek ECC matchup on Wednesday night. With the win, the Wildcats move to 11-4 on the season and remain undefeated (3-0) in conference play. Roberts Wesleyan drops to 4-8 on the year and 1-2 in ECC action. The Wildcats have won 26 straight regular season conference matches and haven't dropped a regular season ECC match since Nov. 10, 2019.
A trio of Wildcat hitters finished with double-digit kills, with junior middle
Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) leading all hitters with 14 kills, senior right side
Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) totaling 11 kills on the day and sophomore outside hitter
Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) adding 10 kills in the victory.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Armstrong returned to the Daemen lineup on Wednesday and put up a season-high 14 kills (4.67 kills/set) while hitting at a .737 clip in the victory. The majority of Armstrong's 14 kills came in the third set, as she went nine of 12. The 6-foot junior added one ace, one dig and an assisted block for a match-high 15.5 points.
- Reigning ECC Player of the Week Giraud extended her double-digit kill streak to four with her 11 kill performance (3.67 kills/set) for a .500 hitting percentage. She added two assisted blocks and one dig for 12 points in the win.
- Making her sixth start of the year, Malpica totaled 10 kills for a .333 hitting percentage, adding seven digs, two aces and an assist.
- Senior setter Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) ran the Wildcat offense with 38 assists (12.67 assists per set) and 11 digs for her second straight double-double of the season.
- After being named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, senior libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) added to her league-leading dig total with a match-high 13 digs tonight (4.33 digs/set) along with a match-high four aces and an assist.
GAME NOTES
- The Wildcats dominated the first from start to finish, out-hitting Roberts 15 to four en route to Daemen's 25-11 set victory. Daemen tallied five aces in the set, while Giraud and Kuliga tallied four kills apiece in the first.
- Roberts Wesleyan kept the second set close early, but Daemen went on a 6-1 run to close out the second and take the set 25-16. Malpica led the charge for the Wildcats offensively, totaling five kills. Brundage had two of Daemen's four aces in the set.
- The Redhawks took their first lead of the match in the third set. After being down 11-7, the Wildcats put together an 11-7 run of their own to take a one point lead over Roberts. The Cats and Redhawks traded points all the way through, sending this one to extra points. Daemen finished it off with a 5-2 run to take the set, 27-25, and win the match.
- Seven Wildcats recorded hits as Daemen out-killed Roberts Wesleyan 49 to 29 on the night and hit at a .387 clip while holding the Redhawks to a .179 hitting percentage in the match. Daemen totaled just eight hitting errors on the night for a season low.
- The Wildcats have won 17 straight matches against the Redhawks.
UP NEXT
Daemen is off this upcoming weekend but hits the road to play three matches next weekend, starting with a non-conference match against Post on Friday, Oct. 6 then resuming ECC play on Saturday at noon against Mercy then facing first-year team St. Thomas Aquinas for the first time in program history on Sunday at 11 AM.
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.
