AMHERST, N.Y. – In a battle between the top two teams in the East Coast Conference, the Daemen University women's volleyball team got revenge from their loss earlier this season by topping Queens College 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 28-26). Daemen improves to 14-6 on the year by winning their third consecutive match. The Wildcats and Knights now sit tied at the top of the conference, with both teams touting a 6-2 record in ECC play. Queens moves to 16-9 with the loss.
Daemen out-hit Queens 43 to 32 with the Wildcats posting 14.3 kills per set in the victory. Graduate student right side
Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) led Daemen with 12 kills and was the sole Wildcat to tally double-digit kills on the day.
The Wildcats will host Molloy University on Sunday at 11 AM at Lumsden Gymnasium.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Giraud totaled 12 kills on 24 attacks and added one block assist. The graduate student tallied six of her 12 kills in the third set alone.
- Junior outside hitter Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) finished with nine kills on 30 swings and added 11 digs and one block assist.
- Freshman outside hitter Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) hit six kills, adding 11 digs, two solo blocks, one block assist and two assists.
- Senior middle hitter Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) posted five kills on 17 swings with two digs and one block assist.
- Senior setter Avery Dole (Summerfield, Wisc.) finished with 21 assists, two digs, one ace and one kill. Sophomore setter Molly Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) totaled 10 assists, four aces, two kills and three digs.
- Graduate student libero Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) posted a match-high 18 digs and added six assists, one ace and one kill in the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The first set was a game of runs for both teams. After tying it up at 10, the Wildcats never trailed from there, outscoring the Knights 16 to 9 off nine Daemen kills to take the first, 25-19. Malpica (four kills) and Giraud (three kills) combined for seven of Daemen's 14 first-set kills.
- Daemen jumped out to a five-point lead, 13-8, early after stellar serving from Ryan. The Wildcats led by as much as eight late in the second set, 21-13, after going on a 7-2 run. The Wildcats took the second, 25-21, after hitting 13 kills on 43 attacks. Craig led Daemen with four kills while Giraud added three in the second.
- The Wildcats maintained a lead throughout the entire third set, never once trailing the Knights, but this one came down to the wire. With Daemen up 21-16, Queens scored six of the next seven points to tie it up at 22. On the Queens set point, Amelia Gonzalez (Juana Diaz, P.R.) hammered home a kill to tie it at 24, and after the Knights took another set point, the Wildcats responded with another kill from Giraud to again tie it. Tied at 26, a QC error led to Daemen set point (27-26), and a kill from Armstrong ended the match in a 3-0 sweep, taking the third 28-26.
- Daemen, who ranks at the bottom of the conference in team blocks (1.38/set), totaled seven blocks in the game, averaging 2.3 blocks per set. Queens totaled six blocks on the day.
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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