NEW CASTLE, Del. – The Daemen University women's volleyball team finished their impressive weekend at the Wildcat Classic hosted by Wilmington with a 1-1 day, picking up a 3-0 sweep over the hosts in the first match of the day before dropping their first match of the weekend to Adelphi in the final game on Saturday. The Wildcats come away from the tournament against regional foes with a 6-6 record.
DAEMEN 3, WILMINGTON 0
Daemen defeated Wilmington 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) in the first of two Saturday matches at the Wildcat Classic. The Wildcats finished with 41 kills and hit .209 while holding Wilmington to 21 kills and a -.010 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats took an early 10-6 edge in the opening set, with
Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.),
Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.),
Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) and
Mina Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) recording kills. After Wilmington (DE) moved within 16-12, the Wildcats scored six straight points, including three kills and a service ace from Craig's service turn, to build a 22-12 lead.
Nicole Giardina (Midland, Mich.) and
Etana Murray (Binghamton, N.Y.) added late kills before Giardina finished the set for a 25-18 Wildcats win.
Down by two (3-5) early in the set,
Jolie Faw's kill started a four-point Wildcats push that included two WU attack errors and a
Peyton Lowes (Northville, Mich.) ace for a 7-5 lead. Later, the Wildcats added four straight points behind a
Mina Faw kill, a Craig ace and a
Jolie Faw kill to stretch the advantage to 11-6. The Wildcats continued to answer sideouts with offense from Gaylor,
Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) and Craig, then Lowes' service turn helped grow the lead to 22-12 with a
Mina Faw kill and an ace. The Cats closed out the set with kills from Giardina and
Jolie Faw to take the second set, 25-14.
With the set tied 4-4, Lowes served the Wildcats through four straight points, starting with an ace before
Mina Faw put down three consecutive kills for an 8-4 lead. After dropping one, the Wildcats rattled off seven unanswered to reach 15-5 with a Craig ace and Johnson and
Jolie Faw contributed kills. Wilmington cut the gap to 15-8 then later moved within 19-13 before the Wildcats pushed back ahead 24-14 on Craig kill and ace and two WU attack errors. Wilmington fought off four set points, but an attack error closed Daemen's 25-18 set win.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Craig led the Wildcats with 11 digs and four aces, adding six kills for a team-high 10 points.
- Jolie Faw posted a team-high eight kills while hitting at an impressive .400 clip along with two blocks – one solo – and one dig.
- Lowes totaled a team-high 15 assists, six digs and three aces.
- Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.) finished with 14 assists and six digs.
- Mina Faw finished with seven kills, four digs and two block assists.
ADELPHI 3, DAEMEN 1
The Wildcats fell to Adelphi 1-3 (25-15, 24-26, 13-25, 23-25) on Saturday to close out the Wildcat Classic with a 3-1 record over the tournament. Daemen opened with a 25-15 set win but dropped the next three sets, including 26-24 and 25-23 decisions in the second and fourth.
Daemen kickstarted the first set in front 7-3 behind kills from Johnson, Gaylor and Craig as well as two aces from Lowes. After the Panthers brought the game within three (9-6), the Wildcats rebuilt the margin and won the next six points with
Mina Faw and Johnson providing kills and Gonzalez and Gaylor combining on a block to take an 18-7 lead. Daemen stayed handily in the lead to reach 24-11. Adelphi scored four straight late, but the Wildcats took the first set 25-15.
The Wildcats built an 8-1 lead early in the second set that included kills by Gaylor and Craig. Adelphi worked back into the set and tied it at 15-15, then moved ahead during a later four-point run for a 22-18 lead. After Adelphi went up 23-19, the Wildcats came back behind two aces and a kill from Johnson and a Gonzalez-Gaylor block to reach set point at 24-23. Adelphi took the final three points to win the second set, 26-24.
Daemen and Adelphi traded points early in the third set until Adelphi began to build a lead after a 7-3 run, 13-7. Despite the Wildcats trying to punch their way back into the set, Adelphi kept answering with sideouts and later used a four-point stretch to push the set to 19-11.
Jolie Faw stopped that run with a kill, and Gonzalez added another to make it 20-13, but Adelphi closed with five straight points for a 25-13 third set victory.
After a series of early ties, Adelphi moved in front 11-8 and later held a 15-12 edge. The Wildcats erased that gap with four straight points, getting a kill from Craig, two Adelphi attack errors and a
Jolie Faw kill to take a 16-15 lead. After the set moved through to 21-21, the Wildcats pulled even again at 23-23 on Gaylor's kill. Adelphi reached set point on a kill and closed the set 25-23 to win the match.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Gaylor had a big day, finishing with team-highs in kills (13) and points (14.5). The junior right side hit .289 and added seven digs and three block assists.
- Johnson totaled 11 kills, two aces and six digs against the Panthers.
- Craig finished with 12 digs, eight kills and one ace.
- Schamaun posted her fourth double-double of the season with 33 assists, 11 digs and chipped in two kills.
- Freshman defensive specialist Mollie Berry (Evergreen Park, Ill.) totaled a team-high 16 digs.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats make their Lumsden Gymnasium debut next weekend as they host Saint Michael's on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1 PM.
