BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's volleyball team defeated D'Youville University 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23) on Thursday night to improve to 13-6 overall and 5-2 in East Coast Conference play and rebound from their loss to their crosstown rivals on Oct. 10. The Saints fall to 7-13 on the year and 4-3 in ECC play. In the 12 matches played over 25 years between these two teams, the Wildcats have never lost at D'Youville, winning six straight road matches at D'Youville's Saints Center.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Junior outside hitter Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) led all players with 13 kills on 34 swings and added seven digs, one block assist and one assist for 13.5 points on the day.
- Graduate student right side Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 12 kills on 36 attacks along with four digs.
- Freshman outside hitter Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) hit nine kills with just three errors on 23 attacks for a .263 hitting percentage, adding a team-tying high 16 digs, three aces and two assists.
- Freshman right side Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) finished with eight kills, five digs and two block assists.
- Senior middle hitter Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) posted eight kills on 18 swings with two block assists and one dig.
- Senior setter Avery Dole (Summerfield, Wisc.) finished with 29 assists, two aces, three digs and one kill. Sophomore setter Molly Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) totaled 18 assists, two aces, nine digs and one kill.
- Graduate student libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) totaled 16 digs, five assists and two aces on the night.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- It was back-and-forth throughout the first set. With the Wildcats and Saints all tied up at 21, D'Youville won the final four points of the set on two kills and two Daemen attack errors to earn a 25-21 victory.
- The Wildcats led by as much as five points in the second, 14-9, after tabbing four straight kills and a D'Youville attack error. Daemen took a 23-17 advantage late, but the Saints scored six of the next seven points off four Wildcat errors to make a one-point game, 24-23, but a Malpica kill gave Daemen the 25-23 set victory. The Wildcats out-killed D'Youville 16-6 with a .306 hitting percentage in the set with Malpica leading the Wildcats with four kills in the second.
- Daemen went on three-point runs throughout the third set and took the 25-19 win over D'Youville after amassing 14 kills on 40 swings. Craig hit five kills in the set. Between Craig, Dole and Ryan, the Wildcats totaled five aces in the third set with Dole and Craig each serving up two aces.
- After Daemen took a 14-13 lead in the fourth, the Saints scored five of the next six points to lead 18-15 and held onto the advantage to lead the Cats 22-18. From there, Daemen scored five unanswered points to lead 23-22, and despite a kill from D'Youville to tie it up, the Wildcats finished the match with back-to-back kills from Malpica and Giraud to take the fourth set, 25-23, to win the match, 3-1.
- Daemen out-hit D'Youville 57 to 34 on the night, finishing with 145 attacks for a .193 hitting percentage. Eight different Wildcats recorded kills tonight.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Lumsden Gymnasium next weekend as they host ECC leader Queens College on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 12 PM and Molloy on Sunday, Nov. 3 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.
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