Mariangelys Vazquez bumps the ball in a recent match for Daemen

Geoff Schneider

Women's Volleyball Welcomes STAC, Mercy For Home Finales

11/6/2025 11:00:00 AM

HOME FINALES
The Daemen University women's volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium for their final two home matches of the 2025 season this weekend. The Wildcats will welcome East Coast Conference foes St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy on the penultimate weekend of the regular season. The Wildcats will be looking for a season sweep of the STAC Spartans after defeating them in their previous meeting (in a five-set thriller), and will be looking to even up the season series with Mercy who enters the weekend with an unblemished conference record.

SENIOR SALUTE
This weekend's matches mark the final home contests in the careers of three Daemen seniors - setter Avery Dole, defensive specialist Mariangelys Vazquez and outside hitter/right side Nahirka Malpica. All three players will be recognized in a brief ceremony prior to Sunday's match vs. Mercy.

Dole began her career down Main Street at Division I Canisius, but has found a home here at Daemen, serving as the team's starting setter for each of the last two seasons, helping Daemen to a 27-21 record to date. She has appeared in 45 matches for the Wildcats, totaling 1,022 assists, 276 digs and 69 service aces.

Vazquez has been a four-year member of the program, helping the Wildcats to a 73-33 record, three ECC regular season championships, two ECC tournament championships and three NCAA tournament berths in that span. She has appeared in 33 matches over her career, primarily as a serving substitute and back row specialist, totaling 123 digs and 24 service aces.

Malpica has also been part of the program for the last four seasons, racking up 59 appearances with 593 kills, 610 digs and 69 service aces. Her best season came as a junior when she earned First Team All-ECC and honorable mention All-Region honors.

POSTSEASON BOUND
Mercy (8-0), Molloy (8-1) and Daemen (6-3) are firmly entrenched as the top three teams in the ECC standings, and all three have already clinched berths to the upcoming ECC Championship tournament which will be hosted by whichever team earns the No. 1 seed on Nov. 21-22. Roberts Wesleyan (3-5) has the inside track on the fourth and final tournament berth, but D'Youville (2-7), Queens (2-7) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1-7) all remain alive in that hunt.

METRO SPLIT
Daemen is coming off a split of two road matches last weekend, falling at Molloy (3-0) before besting Queens (3-1). Sunday's win gave Daemen a sweep of their season series with the Knights as Keira Mullen (13 kills), Avery Craig (11 kills) and Nahirka Malpica (10 kills) all posted double-figure kills to lead the way. Malpica (17 digs) and Craig (16 digs) each posted double-doubles, while Jarielys Giraud matched the team-high with 17 digs to lead the Daemen defense.

DECADE OF DOMINANCE
Daemen's 3-0 sweep of Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 29 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. Mullen has been a three-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection. She leads Daemen with 250 kills and ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in kills per set (3.16). Mullen has recorded 10+ kills in 12 of the last 15 matches, including a career-high 20 in wins over St. Thomas Aquinas (Oct. 11) and D'Youville (Oct. 22).

Malpica, the 2025 ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is contributing both offensively and defensively, ranking sixth in kills per set (2.95) and seventh in digs per set (2.89) among the ECC leaders. She is one of only two players league-wide to be in the top 10 of both categories. Malpica has picked up weekly accolades in back-to-back weeks, most recently earning ECC Player of the Week honors for leading the Wildcats to a 2-1 record from Oct. 27-Nov. 2.

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 84.0 blocks this season, and leads the ECC by averaging 1.08 blocks per set. She has surpassed the program's NCAA Division II era record for blocks in a season (78 by Ye Wang in 2015 & Vanessa Kuliga in 2021), and has the most blocks 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 2.94 digs per set, ranking second on the squad with 185 total digs. She has posted 10+ digs in seven matches this season, including a season-high 28 in a five-set loss to Clarion on Sept. 12.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Under the direction of first-year head coach Nicholas Basco, STAC enters the weekend looking to keep themselves alive in the chase for a conference tournament berth. The Spartans are just 2-8 since Oct. 1, however, and are coming off a 3-1 loss to Roberts Wesleyan this past weekend. Freshman outside hitter Adriana Zarceno has paced the STAC offense this season, accounting for 30% of their total kills while ranking second among the league leaders in kills per set (3.98). Junior defensive specialist Boglarka Kiss has also contributed, both offensively and defensively, as she ranks second in digs per set (4.06) and first in aces per set (0.64) among the league leaders.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats hold a 6-0 edge in the all-time series with STAC. Five of those meetings have occurred since 2023 when the Spartans reestablished their program after more than a decade of non-existence. The Wildcats are 15-3 in sets against the Spartans over that span, but it took all five sets for the Wildcats pull out a win in the teams' prior meeting this season.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
After advancing to the ECC Championship finals last season - their deepest run since 2005 - the Mercy Mavericks are off to a 15-3 start this season, and they enter the weekend the only unbeaten team in league play. The Mavericks, who visit D'Youville on Friday evening, are coming off a key regional win as they knocked off American International 3-1 earlier this week. Mercy leads the ECC in hitting percentage (.247), blocks per set (2.28), assists per set (11.81), opponent hitting percentage (.114) and opponent kills per set (9.05). The Mavericks feature the top two hitters in the conference so far this season, with senior outside hitter Gabriela Bieniek (4.19 kills/set) and sophomore outside hitter Grace Dilena (3.71 kills/set) leading the way. Both are attacking at a .256 clip or better, and Dilena is adding 0.53 service aces per set. Adriana Rivera Rodriguez runs the show from the setter position, and is averaging a league-best 9.41 assists per set, while Mia Illes-Hair (1.05 blocks/set) and Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentes (0.86 blocks/set) are providing a great defensive presence at the net.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen owns a 19-5 advantage in the all-time series with Mercy, but Mercy has won two of the last three meetings, including a 3-0 sweep earlier this season. The Wildcats are 12-0 all-time in home matches against the Mavericks.

UP NEXT
Daemen closes out the regular season by making the 60-mile trek to Rochester to face the Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks next Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Voller Athletic Center.

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