Match #21
Daemen Wildcats (9-11, 5-2 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (13-7, 6-1 ECC)
Saturday, Nov. 1 | 12 PM | Rockville Centre, N.Y. | Bob Houlihan Court
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Live Stats
Match #22
Daemen Wildcats (9-11, 5-2 ECC) vs. Queens Knights (8-14, 1-6 ECC)
Sunday, Nov. 2 | 12 PM | Flushing, N.Y. | Auxiliary Gym
Links:
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Live Stats
ROAD TRIPPIN'
The Daemen University women's volleyball team heads to the Big Apple and points further eastward this weekend, with key East Coast Conference matches against the Molloy Lions and Queens Knights. The Wildcats have won two straight matches and will be looking for a split of their season series with Molloy (lost 3-1 on Sept. 27) and a sweep of their season series with Queens (won 3-0 on Sept. 28).
ECC OUTLOOK
With three weekends left in the regular season, it looks to be a three horse race for the ECC regular season title. Mercy (7-0), Molloy (6-1) and Daemen (5-2) are firmly entrenched as the top three teams in the
league standings, with Roberts Wesleyan (2-4), D'Youville (2-5), Queens (1-6) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1-6) all still alive for the fourth and final ECC Championship berth. A Daemen sweep of this weekend's matches would, at worst, bring them into a tie for second place, and would keep them alive in the race for a No. 1 seed to the conference tournament.
DECADE OF DOMINANCE
Daemen is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 29. It marked the Wildcats' 21st consecutive win over their rivals from Rochester, a streak that dates back to 2015. It ranks as Daemen's longest active winning streak against any single opponent. The Wildcats dominated at the net in their most recent victory, racking up 43 kills on a .273 hitting percentage while also totaling 12 blocks. RWU was limited to just a .043 hitting percentage.
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 11 of the last 13 matches. She leads the team with 235 kills and is among the ECC leaders in kills per set (3.22). Malpica has produced both offensively (224 kills, 2.99 kills per set) and defensively (team-high 214 digs, 2.85 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 78.0 blocks this season, and leads the ECC by averaging 1.10 blocks per set. She has equaled the program's NCAA Division II era record for blocks in a season (78 by Ye Wang in 2015 & Vanessa Kuliga in 2021), and already has 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 2.89 digs per set, ranking second on the squad with 162 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. As of the start of this week, teams responsible for the Wildcats' 11 losses have combined for a 152-71 record (.682 winning percentage). 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 LIONS
Entering the season ranked fifth in the 2025 ECC Preseason Poll after going 14-12 overall and 5-7 in conference play in 2024, Molloy started off this season hot, winning six of their first seven matches. They haven't been as hot lately, going just 3-3 over their last six outings. The Lions have been idle since scoring a 3-0 win over Queens on Oct. 21, a result that snapped their two-match slide. Coming into the weekend with a 6-1 league record, the Lions rank either first or second in the ECC for points per set (16.62), hitting percentage (.206), assists per set (11.96), kills per set (12.99), digs per set (14.42) and opponent hitting percentage (.159). The Lions feature a balanced offensive attack with five players averaging at least 1.80 kills per set, led by Erin Stanley's 2.66. Ilaria Micol Chiericati is Molloy's best presence out of the middle, as she has produced 58.0 blocks while also leading the league in hitting percentage (.346).
SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 22-6 advantage in the all-time series, but Molloy's win on Sept. 27 snapped Daemen's 11-match winning streak in the series.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Queens is coming off the program's best season since 2008 after going 19-11 and 9-3 in ECC play to share the ECC regular season title with Daemen last year. Wins have been harder to come by this time around, and the Knights head into the weekend with just a 2-8 record in their last 10 outings. Kylynn White (2.82 kills/set) and Kendall Conrad (2.57 kills/set) have paced the Queens offense. White is also second on the team with 301 assists. Maya Angelova has a league-high 83.0 blocks.
SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Knights split their two meetings a season ago, but Daemen's win on Sept. 28 pushed their series record to 19-5 all-time. The Wildcats have won 13 of the last 14 meetings.
UP NEXT
Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for their home finales, hosting St. Thomas Aquinas (Nov. 8) and league-leading Mercy (Nov. 9) next weekend.
