Women's Volleyball Makes Home Debut And Kicks Off ECC Play This Weekend

9/26/2024 1:24:00 PM

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

HOME, SWEET HOME
The Daemen University women's volleyball team makes their 2024 home debut over the weekend as they open up East Coast Conference play. The Wildcats host Mercy University in a 1 PM match on Saturday and will play St. Thomas Aquinas College on Sunday at noon. Daemen comes into the weekend with a 7-3 overall record after an undefeated 3-0 weekend at the Crimson Hawk Classic. Mercy sits at 5-2 on the year, while STAC is 4-6 overall. All three teams are kicking off ECC action this weekend.

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats won all three matches last weekend at the Crimson Hawk Classic hosted by Indiana (Pa.) and took down two previously unbeaten teams in the tournament. Daemen came back from being down two sets to none in the first match of the tournament against undefeated Shepherd and won each of the final three sets to beat the Rams 3-2. Four Daemen players tallied double-digit kills in the five-set thriller, with graduate student Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) and senior middle Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wisc.) each notching 16 kills while junior outside Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) hit 14 kills and graduate student Abby Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) finished with 13 in the win. Sophomore setter Molly Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) tallied 45 assists and 17 digs, while graduate student Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) finished with 13 digs and 11 assists in the win. Daemen went on to top Elizabeth City State, 3-1, in their second match of the day as Malpica led the Wildcats offensively with 17 kills and 17 digs. Giraud finished with 16 kills. Senior setter Avery Dole (Summerfield, N.C.) set the Wildcats to victory with 45 assists and seven kills. Brundage tied a season-high with a 28-dig performance over the Vikings. Daemen continued their winning ways with another five-set victory on Saturday, taking down undefeated Pitt-Johnstown 3-2 in a back-and-forth match. Three Daemen players posted double-digit kills in the win as the Wildcats totaled 67 kills, marking the fourth time this season that Daemen totaled 65+ kills in a match. Malpica posted a career-high 24 kills and earned her third-straight double-double of the season with 20 digs in the win, while Giraud hit 18 kills and a career-high 18 digs. Armstrong finished with 12 kills and just one error for a team-high .379 hitting percentage, adding a team-high four blocks. Dole finished with 51 assists and 12 digs, and Brundage again led the Wildcats defensively with 22 digs.

WEEKLY HONORS
Two Daemen players were recognized by the ECC in this week's awards, with Malpica earning her first career ECC Player of the Week nod and Brundage taking home ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week in a row. The junior outside hitter led the Wildcats offensively over the weekend, totaling 55 kills (3.9 kills/set) and 55 digs, both of which led all ECC nominees for Player of the Week. She posted a double-double in all three matches, hitting .283 over the weekend and added three blocks and seven aces, six of which came against Shepherd. Brundage earned her second straight Defensive POTW after totaling 63 digs in the tournament to average 4.5 digs per set. She totaled double-digit digs in all three matches and added 17 assists, one kill and seven aces on the weekend.

ECC DOMINANCE
The Wildcats were picked atop the 2024 ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll for the third consecutive year. Winners of the past three straight ECC regular season and tournament titles, Daemen has gone undefeated in conference play for three straight seasons and has a 35-match regular season conference win streak that dates back to Nov. 10, 2019.

STAT CATS
Through 10 games, the Wildcats lead the conference in kills (13.48 per set), assists (12.4 per set), opponent kills (9.35 per set), opponent assists (8.55 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.156). Daemen players rank in the top-10 across the board. Brundage leads the league in digs with 4.88 digs per set while Ryan ranks second in the ECC with 4.0 kills per set while Giraud is sixth (3.2 per set) and Malpica ranks 10th (2.86 kills/set). Armstrong and Giraud are fourth and fifth in hitting percentage at .304 and .296, respectively. Dole ranks fourth in the league with 7.97 assists per set, and Armstrong ranks ninth in blocks (0.63 per set). Ryan is third in the league with 4.59 points per set, and both Giraud and Malpica are also in the top-10 with Giraud eighth (3.34) and Malpica ninth (3.33).

UP NEXT
The Wildcats make their first conference road trip of the season next weekend to play at Queens on Saturday, Oct. 5 and Molloy on Sunday, Oct. 6 at noon and 11 AM, respectively.

THE MAVERICKS
Mercy put together their most successful season since 2005 a year ago, finishing with a 15-9 overall record and earning an NCAA Tournament win for the first time since 2001. The Mavericks' 2023 season ended in the East Region Semifinals with a 3-1 decision to eventual regional champions Bentley. Mercy built off the success from last season by opening up 2024 with a 5-2 record. Over their seven matches, the Mavericks have dropped just eight sets, with their two losses coming against Post in a 2-3 season opener decision and falling 0-3 to Adelphi in their last game out. The Mavericks lead the ECC in points (17.12 per set), hitting percentage (.249), blocks (1.80/set), opponent service aces (1.6/set) and opponent digs (10.64/set). 6-foot-1 junior outside hitter Gabriela Bieniek leads Mercy offensively with 100 kills and ranks second in the ECC with 4.0 kills/set while leading the league with 4.98 points per set. She also leads the team with 20 aces on the year. 5-foot-10 freshman outside Grace Dilena ranks second on the team with 78 kills (3.12 kills/set ranks seventh in the conference). Graduate student middle blocker Julia Pomerleau leads the league with a .467 hitting percentage and ranks third on the team with 51 kills (2.13 kills/set) and leads the team with 19 blocks while 6-foot-1 middle blocker Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentes is second on the team with 16 blocks and leads the league with 0.94 blocks per set.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 18-3 all-time against the Mavericks and are riding a seven-match win streak.

THE SPARTANS
Playing in their inaugural season in 2023, STAC finished with a 5-15 overall record and went 1-11 in ECC play. This season, the Spartans are one win away from tying last season's win record, opening the 2024 campaign with a 4-6 record. STAC is averaging 10.23 kills per set and leads the league with 2.69 aces per set. Freshman outside hitter Evie Paalman ranks fourth in the league with 3.49 kills per set and leads the team with 122 total kills and 108 digs (3.09 digs/set.) The trio of Anna Gazzerro, Greta Santini and Paalman rank fifth, sixth and seventh inthe league in service aces, with Gazzerro averaging 0.63/set (22 total), Santini at 0.6/set (21 total) and Paalman at 0.51/set (18 total).

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen won both match ups between the two teams in 3-0 sweeps last season.

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.

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