Women's Volleyball | 11/12/2026 2:07:00 PM
2026 ECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
Semifinal: #3 seed Daemen Wildcats vs. #2 seed D'Youville Saints | Friday, Nov. 13 | 6:30 PM | Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
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Daemen Links: Roster |
Schedule |
Stats |
Record: 16-10 overall, 8-4 ECC
D'Youville Links: Roster |
Schedule |
Stats |
Record: 15-13 overall, 8-4 ECC
IT'S TOURNAMENT TIME
For the ninth time in program history, the Daemen University women's volleyball team will play in the East Coast Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament, making their eighth consecutive postseason appearance. Entering as the #3 seed in the field, the Wildcats will take on #2 seed D'Youville on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 PM in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The tournament is hosted by Mercy University, who won the ECC regular season title for the second consecutive season.
SEED BATTLE
Daemen and D'Youville both finished with an 8-4 record in conference play and split their regular season matches but the Saints earned the #2 seed over the Wildcats in the next tiebreak which came down to set wins, five to Daemen's three (the Saints beat the Wildcats 3-0 in the first meeting and lost 2-3 in the second). The winner of the Daemen/D'Youville semifinal will advance to play the earlier semifinal winner of #1 seed Mercy/#4 seed Molloy in the ECC Championship game on Saturday at 5 PM.
DAEMEN IN THE ECC TOURNAMENT
The Wildcats come into the 2026 ECC Championship tournament with an 8-4 overall record in tournament matches. After going 13-1 in conference play to win their first ECC regular season title, Daemen made its first ever ECC Tournament appearance in 2016 but fell to New York Institute of Technology in the finals. The Wildcats returned to host the tournament in 2018 and beat Molloy 3-1 for their first ever ECC Tournament title. Daemen lost to Bridgeport in the 2019 semifinals, and the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wildcats hosted the tournament in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and hoisted the trophy in '21, '22 and '23, topping Bridgeport 3-2 in the '21 championship for their second title, beating Molloy 3-0 in '22 and taking down Molloy in the 2023 season 3-0 for their fourth tournament championship. The Wildcats hosted the 2024 tournament but fell to the eventual tournament champions #4 seed D'Youville 2-3 in the semifinal match. Daemen entered the 2025 tournament as the #3 seed and fell to #2 seed Molloy, 1-3, at Mercy last season. Among the 2026 tournament participants, the Wildcats split with #2 seed D'Youville and #4 seed Molloy this season but lost both matches to #1 seed Mercy, who went undefeated in conference play this year.
ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Three Wildcats earned All-ECC honors this season, and Daemen earned a major award for the 15th time in Daemen's 11 years in the ECC. Freshman
Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) was named the 2026 ECC Rookie of the Year and earned Second Team All-ECC honors, while junior
Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) was also named to the All-ECC Second Team and sophomore
Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) earned All-ECC Honorable Mention.
Audrey Johnson, Fr., OH, Mequon, Wisc. -- Johnson was named the ECC Rookie of the Year after a stellar freshman campaign with the Wildcats, as well as taking home Second Team All-ECC honors. A four-time ECC Rookie of the Week, Johnson started 24 of Daemen's 26 matches this season and finished second on the team in kills with 202, averaging 2.27/set while leading the Wildcats with 40 aces. Her 0.45/set ranks sixth among ECC leaders. A stud in serve-receive, Johnson has taken a team-high 528 receptions this season, holding a 92.4 reception percentage. Defensively, the freshman ranks third on the team in digs, contributing 182 digs (2.04/set) while adding 25 total blocks on the year. Johnson has totaled five double-doubles (kills-digs) and was a key factor in the Wildcat offense that advanced back to the ECC Tournament.
Avery Craig, Jr., OH, Tomball, Tex. -- Emerging as Daemen's top offensive weapon in 2026, Craig earned Second Team All-ECC honors for the first time in her career. This season, the junior outside hitter leads the way with 235 kills (2.35 kills/set) while hitting .194 on the year. Playing in a team-high 100 sets over 26 matches this season, Craig second on the team with 37 aces (0.37/set), and has contributed a team-high 284 digs, ranking fourth in the ECC with 2.84 digs/set while being the only outside hitter ranking in the league's top-10 in digs (fourth in the ECC). Craig has taken 518 receptions on the year for a 93.1 reception percentage, and contributed 21 blocks at the net. Totaling six double-doubles (kills-digs) this season, Craig has finished with 20+ digs twice (vs. Roberts Wesleyan on Nov. 1 and vs. Molloy on Nov. 7) while finishing with double-digit digs in 13 games.
Jolie Faw, So., MB, Williamsburg, Va. -- Faw made quite the impact in her first season with Daemen, earning All-ECC Honorable Mention after a solid season. A dominant force at the net, Faw posted a team-high 85 blocks to average 0.87 blocks per set, good for third in the ECC. Faw also ranks fourth on the team in kills, totaling 152 on the season to average 1.55 kills/set while hitting .202 on the year. The only Daemen player to start all 26 matches on the year, the sophomore middle has totaled multiple blocks in all but four matches, and finished with a season-high eight blocks against Franklin Pierce on Aug. 29.
THE 2026 SEASON AT A GLIMPSE
In year two under head coach
Kaysie Shebeneck, Daemen comes into the ECC Tournament as the #3 seed with a 16-10 overall record after going 8-4 in conference play this season. The Wildcats' four ECC losses this season have come at the hands of the three other playoff teams, losing twice to Mercy (2-3 on Oct. 4 and 1-3 on Oct. 18), once to D'Youville (0-3 on Oct. 11) and once to Molloy (2-3 on Oct. 24). Since their last conference loss on Oct. 24, the Wildcats have won five straight ECC matches. Daemen ranks second in the ECC in points (15.65/set), opponent hitting percentage (.141), assists (10.48/set), kills (11.3/set), opponent blocks (1.48/set), opponent service aces (1.74/set) and service aces (2.4/set), while leading the league in blocks (1.95/set) and digs (15.09/set). Sophomore middle blocker
Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) ranks third in the league in blocks, totaling 85 on the year to average 0.87/set, while senior middle blocker Amelia Gonzalez (Juana Diaz, P.R.) ranks fourth in the ECC in blocks with 0.86/set, 71 total.
Mina Faw is 10th in the league in blocks (0.67/set). Johnson ranks sixth in the league in aces (0.45/set) with 40 on the year, while junior defensive specialist
Olivia Urbon (Chicago, Ill.) ranks eighth in aces (0.41/set, 26 total). Craig ranks fourth in the league in digs (2.84/set, 284 total), and is the only outside hitter to be ranked in the top-10 among ECC leaders in digs.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
In the second year under head coach Allison Post, D'Youville has put together a program best season, going 15-13 overall and 8-4 in ECC action to enter the tournament as the #2 seed, also marking a program best. The Saints average 11.1 kills per set and are led by a pair of heavy hitters. Junior outside hitter Cameron Ulinski earned First Team All-ECC honors and ranks second in the league with 3.39 kills/set for a team-high 346 kills on the year while also leading the team with 52 aces (0.51/set ranks fourth in the ECC), while senior outside hitter Madeline O'Brien earned Second Team All-ECC honors after totaling 308 kills (2.93/set ranks seventh in the ECC). Redshirt sophomore setter Ashley Ballou earned Second Team All-ECC honors after pacing the Saints offense with 7.41 assists/set, 58 blocks and 211 digs this season. Daemen is 14-3 all time against D'Youville, and the Wildcats and Saints split both games this season.
