WALTHAM, MA. – The Daemen University women's volleyball team defeated American International College, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-23), but were swept by hosts Bentley University in their first contest of the day, 0-3 (20-25, 15-25, 21-25), to split their final two matches on the second day of the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament.
The Wildcats see their record move to 4-3 after two tournaments. Bentley improved to 3-3 while AIC slipped to 1-6 with their third consecutive loss.
MATCH #1 – Daemen vs Bentley
The host Falcons took the opening match of the day, defeating the Wildcats 3-0. In the third set, the Wildcats attempted to avoid the sweep with a late 4-2 rally to cut their deficit to just two, 23-21, but the Falcons sealed the win with a kill from Tory Vikto and a Daemen attack error. Bentley posted a .239 (39-13-110) hitting percentage compared to .069 (29-22-102) for Daemen.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Graduate student
Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) led Daemen with 16 digs in the contest.
• At the net, senior
Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wis.) post three total blocks for the second consecutive match
• Senior
Avery Dole (Summerfield, N.C.) posted 15 assists. Dole and Armstrong each also notched one service ace.
• Sophia Poehlen led Bentley with a match-high 12 kills as her teammate, Ali Stuessi, collecting 12 digs.
MATCH #2 – Daemen vs AIC
Ahead 2-0 posting a .412 (18-4-32) hitting percentage in the second set, the Wildcats came out hot in the final stanza, racing out to an early 8-2 lead. The Wildcats continued their run later in the set with Dole on the service line as they rattled off seven unanswered points to expand their lead to seven, 19-12. AIC attempted a late comeback, cutting the Daemen lead to as little as one, but kills from graduate student
Abby Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and sophomore
Kate Trueblood (Granger, Ind.) prevented the AIC comeback and sealed the 25-23 set and 3-0 match victory.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Ryan and junior
Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) led the way with 13 and 12 kills each.
• Dole churned out a match-high 18 assists and two aces while Brundage added in 18 digs on the defensive side of the ball. Junior
Mariangelys Vazquez (Bayamón, P.R.) added in two aces of her own as well.
• At the net Ryan totaled a career-high four blocks with Trueblood notching three of her own in the winning effort
• AIC was led by eight kills from Janelys Perez Cortes and Jelena Milovanovic while Alice Di Francesco totaled a team-high nine digs in the losing effort.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back in action from Sept. 20-21 when they head to Indiana, Pa., to compete in three matches at the Crimson Hawk Classic. Their first scheduled match is set for 11 a.m. on Sept. 20 against Shepard University.
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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