Women's Volleyball Starts ECC Play Downstate

10/2/2026 11:57:00 AM

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

BACK IN BUSINESS
The Daemen University women's volleyball team returns to action this weekend, traveling downstate to play road conference matches at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, Oct. 3 (1 PM) and Mercy University on Sunday, Oct. 4 (12 PM). It marks the East Coast Conference opening weekend for the Wildcats, who come into the weekend with an 8-6 overall record. The Spartans sit at 5-7 overall while Mercy is 10-1 on the year.

LAST WEEK
The Wildcats put together a pair of home sweeps on Saturday, Sept. 19 with a 3-0 victory over Saint Michael's in Daemen's home opener, then followed up with a 3-0 sweep over Slippery Rock on Tuesday, Sept. 22. In their win over the Purple Knights, the Cats outhit Saint Michael's 46 to 28 while hitting .239 and allowing the Purple Knights to hit just .084. Freshman outside hitter Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) led the Wildcats with 12 kills while hitting a season-high .458 percentage, recording her fourth double-double of the season with 10 digs along with two aces. Sophomore outside hitter Mina Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) tallied a season-best 10 kills while hitting .438, adding two blocks – one solo – for 11.5 points. Junior outside hitter Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) totaled seven kills, 10 digs and one ace. Senior setter Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.) finished with 21 assists and four digs and freshman libero Mollie Berry (Evergreen Park, Ill.) totaled a team-high 11 digs.

Daemen followed up with a second sweep last Tuesday night, eight Wildcats recorded kills as Daemen dominated offensively, totaling 45 kills for a .279 clip while holding Slippery Rock 45 to 30 kills with a .084 hitting percentage. The Wildcats were led by the big arm of Craig who totaled 14 kills while hitting .440 on the night. Sophomore middle blocker Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) finished with nine kills on 18 attacks and two block assists. Junior right side Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) finished with eight kills while Johnson tallied seven kills and three aces. Mina Faw led the Cats at the net with four total blocks -- three solo and two assisted -- and three kills, while Schamaun tallied 23 assists and five digs.

3X WEEKLY HONORS
Johnson was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for the third consecutive week after her seven kill, three ace and six dig performance over The Rock last week. The freshman is the only Daemen player to earn weekly awards so far this season.

CONFERENCE PLAY
Daemen was selected third in the 2026 ECC Preseason Poll, behind only Mercy (49 points, 7 first-place votes) and Molloy (38 points). The Wildcats garnered 37 points in the pregame poll after finishing third in the conference last season. Daemen has been dominant in conference play since 2021, tallying a 51-7 record in ECC action over the past five seasons, including three consecutive years of undefeated records (2021-23). In head coach Kaysie Shebeneck's first season at the helm in 2025, the Wildcats went 8-4 in ECC matches, only dropping conference games against Mercy and Molloy who placed first and second in the ECC a year ago.

TOP OF THE LEAGUE
Sunday's game against Mercy features the top two teams in the ECC in a myriad of statistics. The Mavericks and Wildcats are one and two, respectively, in points, assists, kills, opponent hitting percentage, opponent blocks and opponent service aces. Daemen leads the league and Mercy is second in blocks.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will host crosstown rival Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 PM.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
St. Thomas Aquinas comes into their ECC opening weekend with a 5-7 overall record and are on a two-game win streak after dropping three straight matches in the middle of September. The Spartans average 10.91 kills per set and are led offensively by Adriana Zarceno with 3.74 kills/set who ranks second on the team with a .212 hitting percentage. Amelia Gasche ranks second on the team with 3.11 kills/set and a team-high .217 hitting percentage. Boglarka Kiss leads the ECC in digs with 4.43/set. The Wildcats are 7-0 all-time against STAC.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The reigning 2025 ECC Champions, Mercy comes into this weekend's action with an impressive 11-1 record and a 1-0 record in conference play. 10 of their 12 matches have come in 3-0 sweeps for the Mavericks. The Mavs are averaging 14.2 kills per set while holding their opponents to an average of 7.8 kills per set. ECC Preseason Player of the Year Grace Dilena leads the Mavericks with 150 kills -- league high 4.17 kills/set -- while hitting .416 on the season. Mercy also looks to two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week Stasa Stamenkovic who totals 113 kills (2.97/set) and averages 2.74 digs/set. Five time ECC setter of the week Adriana Rivera Rodriguez averages 10.45 assists/set. Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentez ranks second in the ECC -- behind only Daemen's Jolie Faw -- with 0.88 blocks/set. The Wildcats own a 19-6 all-time record over the Mavericks but have lost the last three meetings.

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