James P. McCoy

Women's Volleyball To Play At Molloy, Queens This Weekend

10/23/2026 12:22:00 PM

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

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Daemen University women's volleyball team hits the road this weekend to play a pair of teams they have yet to face in East Coast Conference play this season. The Wildcats kick the weekend off on Saturday in an 11 AM match at Molloy in Rockville Centre, N.Y., then will face Queens on Sunday at 11 AM in Flushing, N.Y. Daemen comes into the weekend sitting fourth in the ECC with an 11-9 overall record and 3-3 record in conference play after splitting last week's matches against St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy. Molloy is currently third in the ECC with a 4-3 record (9-12 overall), while Queens is tied for last in the league with a 3-18 overall record and 1-5 record in ECC matches.

LAST WEEKEND
The Wildcats split the weekend at home in games against St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy. Daemen opened up the weekend with a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20) sweep over STAC in the ECC's Women's Volleyball Game of the Week on Saturday after dominating on both sides of the ball, totaling 39 kills, 11 aces and 10 blocks. Junior outside hitter Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) led the Wildcats with nine kills, a season-high six aces and a team-high 15 digs in the victory. Junior right side Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) totaled eight kills and one block, while sophomore outside hitter Mina Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) finished with eight kills and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) totaled six kills, five blocks and four aces, and sophomore middle blocker Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) tallied six blocks -- one solo -- and four kills.

In Sunday's action against top-ranked Mercy, the Wildcats cruised to a first set victory (25-19) but could not overtake the Mavericks in the final three sets, falling 1-3 (25-19, 18-25, 24-26, 23-25) to Mercy, who still remains unbeaten in ECC action. The Cats and the Mavs played neck-and-neck throughout the match and the final stats showed it: the Mavs finished with 46 kills to Daemen's 45, Mercy hit .173 to Daemen's .134, the Mavs totaled 41 assists to the Wildcats' 39, Daemen finished with 10 aces to Mercy's 7, and both teams totaled 11 blocks. Craig again led the Wildcats offensively, totaling 11 kills, nine digs and two blocks, while Gaylor finished with 10 kills and three blocks in the loss. Mina Faw totaled seven kills and a season-high six block assists, while Jolie Faw contributed seven kills and two blocks. Amelia Gonzalez (Juana Diaz, P.R.) totaled seven blocks, including four consecutive blocks early in the first set.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Daemen is currently sitting fourth in the conference with a 3-3 ECC record. Mercy (6-0) leads the league with an unblemished conference record, followed by D'Youville (5-1) and Molloy (4-3) at second and third. St. Thomas Aquinas (2-5) is fifth while Roberts Wesleyan (1-5) and Queens (1-5) are tied for sixth in the league. Halfway through conference play, the top four teams get into the ECC Tournament which will be hosted by the regular season champion on Nov. 13-14.

1. Mercy (6-0)
2. D'Youville (5-1)
3. Molloy (4-3)
4. Daemen (3-3)
5. St. Thomas Aquinas (2-5)
T6. Roberts Wesleyan (1-5)
T6. Queens (1-5)

STAT CATS
Through the first half of conference play, the Wildcats sit second in the ECC in points (15.3/set), opponent hitting percentage (.142), assists (10.39), kills (11.16) and opponent service aces (1.71). Daemen leads the league with 1.96 blocks per set and ranks third in hitting percentage (.159) and service aces (2.18). Jolie Faw leads the ECC with 0.95 blocks per set while Gonzalez is fifth (0.86/set) and Mina Faw ranks 10th (0.67/set). Craig is fourth in the league in digs (2.82/set), Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.) ranks third in assists (5.61/set) and Johnson is seventh in aces (0.43/set).

UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back home next Wednesday with a 6:30 PM match against crosstown rival D'Youville.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Coming into the weekend with a 9-12 overall record, Molloy is coming off a 3-1 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday and improved to third in the ECC with their 4-3 conference record. The Lions have collected ECC wins over Roberts Wesleyan (3-0, 3-0), Queens (3-1) and STAC (3-1) while falling to D'Youville (2-3, 1-3) and Mercy (0-3) this season. Molloy averages 10.9 kills per set and is led by senior outside hitter Erin Stanley who averages 3.3/set (264 total), good for fourth in the ECC. Freshman right side Kailie Girard ranks second on the team and 10th in the conference with 2.44 kills/set, while ranking ninth in the league with a .212 hitting percentage. Senior setter Hayden Riddle is second in the league with 0.58 aces/set. Daemen is 22-8 all-time to the Lions but lost all three meeting between the two teams, including their ECC semifinal matchup, last year.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
After opening the 2026 season with a victory over Post, Queens lost 11 straight matches from Aug. 28 to Sept. 12 before collecting a non-conference win over Georgian Court. The Knights sit tied for sixth in the ECC with a 1-5 record, with their lone win coming in a 3-1 decision against Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 3. Since then, the Knights have dropped five straight, including a 2-3 loss to the Redhawks on Saturday. Averaging 9.1 kills per set this season, Queens is led by freshman outside hitter Zoe Sercu who ranks ninth in the ECC with 2.8 kills/set (210 total). Junior libero Asuka Shibue ranks second in the league with 3.4 digs/set. The Wildcats are 20-5 all-time against the Knights and have won the past three matchups against Queens.

Print Friendly Version