AMHERST, N.Y. — The Daemen University women's volleyball team swept St. Thomas Aquinas in straight sets, 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20) on Saturday afternoon in the East Coast Conference Women's Volleyball Game of the Week. Daemen totaled 39 kills, 11 aces and 10 blocks while holding the Spartans to a .127 hitting percentage. The Wildcats' 11 service aces exceeded their season average of 8.06 per game, and the 10 blocks surpassed their season average of 7.11.
Kills from
Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) and
Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) helped give Daemen the early 5-4 advantage in the first. The teams traded points through 13-13, when Gaylor and Craig put down kills and
Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) added a service ace as the Wildcats moved in front 17-13. STAC later got within two, 19-17, but
Mina Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) answered with a kill and Craig served consecutive aces to push the Wildcats ahead 22-17. After
Jolie Faw's (Williamsburg, Va.) kill and an ace from
Mollie Berry (Evergreen Park, Ill.) brought up set point at 24-19, St. Thomas Aquinas scored three straight before
Mina Faw finished the set with a kill for a 25-22 Wildcats win.
Down 8-5 in the second set, the Wildcats scored seven straight points, with Craig starting the stretch with a kill and serving six straight points that included two Johnson kills, two block points and two aces for a 12-8 lead. STAC cut the margin to 14-13, but the Wildcats answered with a block by Amelia Gonzalez (Juana Diaz, P.R.) and Johnson, Gonzalez kill and Craig kill to move back ahead 17-13. Gonzalez has recorded three or more blocks in two consecutive games. The Wildcats built the lead to 23-18 before the Spartans won five straight rallies to tie the set at 23-23. Johnson put the Wildcats at set point with a kill, and after STAC tied it at 24-24, Gaylor's kill and Johnson's ace closed the 26-24 set win.
The Wildcats opened the third set with a
Mina Faw kill and a Johnson ace, but St. Thomas Aquinas answered with five straight points and later used a six-point run to move ahead 11-4. The Wildcats worked back into the set with points from Faw, Craig, a
Jolie Faw-Johnson block and consecutive Johnson kills, then tied it at 14-14 on a kill from Gaylor and a STAC attack error. After St. Thomas Aquinas went back in front 15-14,
Mina Faw tied it with a kill, a
Mina Faw-Gonzalez block put the Wildcats ahead 16-15 and Gonzalez followed with a kill before the Spartans later tied the set at 19-19. A service error put the Wildcats back in front 20-19, and Craig served through four straight Wildcats points, including another
Jolie Faw-Johnson block, a Gaylor kill and Craig ace, before Gaylor closed the 25-20 set win with a kill.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Craig totaled nine kills, a season-high six aces, and 15 digs on the day.
- Johnson finished with six kills, four aces and five total blocks, including one solo block.
- Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.) finished with 22 assists and eight digs.
- Jolie Faw tallied six total blocks -- one solo -- and added four kills.
- Mina Faw hit .348 off eight kills and added three total blocks.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats host Mercy on Sunday at 11 AM.
