Solé Rancy offers a double high five to teammate Keira Mullen

Geoff Schneider

Women's Volleyball Welcomes Rival Redhawks To Town Wednesday

10/28/2025 11:00:00 AM

HOME COOKING
The Daemen University women's volleyball team returns to home action for the first time since Oct. 4 when the rival Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks visit Lumsden Gymnasium for a 6 p.m. first serve Wednesday. The Wildcats are seeking back-to-back wins for the first time in nearly a month after winning at D'Youville last week as we head down the stretch of East Coast Conference play. Daemen will also be looking to extend its lengthy winning streak against RWU; the Wildcats are winners of 20 straight meetings heading into Wednesday's contest.

ALL BARK, NO BITE
The Wildcats picked up a 3-1 win over the D'Youville Saints on Oct. 22, giving them a sweep of the season series against their crosstown rivals. Keira Mullen (career-high 20 kills) and Payton Gaylor (13 kills, .478 hitting percentage) combined for 33 of the Wildcats' 57 kills. Nahirka Malpica registered 15 digs and matched her season-high with three blocks, and setter Avery Dole equaled her season-high with 25 assists while chipping in 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. The Wildcats are now 13-2 all-time against DYU.

M&M's
Freshman outside hitter/right side Keira Mullen and senior outside hitter/right side Nahirka Malpica continue to lead the Wildcats this season, and each picked up ECC weekly accolades for their contributions to Daemen's win at D'Youville last Wednesday. Mullen was named the ECC Rookie of the Week, her third such selection this season, while Malpica - the 2025 ECC Preseason Player of the Year - was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week, her first weekly award this season and the fifth of her career. Mullen has recorded 10+ kills in 10 of the last 12 matches. She leads the team with 224 kills and also ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in kills per set (3.20). Malpica has produced both offensively (216 kills, 3.00 kills per set) and defensively (team-high 199 digs, 2.76 digs per set).

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman middle blocker Solé Rancy and sophomore Jarielys Giraud have both impacted the Wildcats while playing in their first collegiate season. Rancy, a native of Columbus, Ohio, has registered a team-high 72.0 blocks this season, and leads the ECC by averaging 1.06 blocks per set. She is six blocks shy of equaling the program's NCAA Division II era record for blocks in a season (78 by Ye Wang in 2015 & Vanessa Kuliga in 2021), and are already the most by a Daemen freshman since Jenn Heiritz's 48 in 2017. Giraud, who sat out last season as a medical redshirt, is contributing a team-high 2.91 digs per set, ranking second on the squad with 154 total digs. She has posted 10+ digs in six matches this season, including a season-high 28 in a five-set loss to Clarion on Sept. 12.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Daemen has played a difficult schedule thus far. Teams responsible for the Wildcats' 11 losses have combined for a 152-71 record (.682 winning percentage) this season. With a combined winning percentage of .542 for all opponents, Daemen's strength of schedule ranks 84th out of the 284 NCAA Division II teams this season, and third among all East Region institutions. Only Franklin Pierce (.579, 39th) and Bentley (.579, 41st) have a higher strength of schedule among East Region teams.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
The Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks will come to Lumsden Gymnasium looking to snap a four-match slide. Their last win came on Oct. 12 when they downed the Queens Knights in five sets in Flushing. The Redhawks were in action this past weekend as they dropped a pair of non-conference matches to Lock Haven (3-2) and Bloomsburg (3-0). Junior outside hitter Camryn Karelus has paced RWU this season (211 kills, 2.78 kills/set) is the only Redhawk averaging better than 2.00 kills per set. Defensively, freshman Alexis Kressler (3.12 digs/set) and senior Morgan Verbridge (0.76 blocks/set) have made an impact.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 39-20 all-time against RWU, and have won 20 consecutive matches in the series. The Redhawks' last win in the series came on Oct. 15, 2014 (also their last win at Lumsden Gymnasium). The two teams meet again Nov. 15 at RWU's Voller Athletic Center in the regular season finale for both.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats head to the Big Apple and points further westward this weekend, with matches against Molloy (Saturday, Nov. 1 @ 12 PM) and Queens (Sunday, Nov. 2 @ 12 PM).

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