AMHERST, N.Y. — The Daemen University women's volleyball team defeated Slippery Rock The Rock in straight sets, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) on Tuesday. Eight Wildcats recorded kills as Daemen outhit Slippery Rock 45 to 30 on the night while hitting .279 and holding The Rock to a .084 hitting percentage.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) led the Wildcats offensively with 14 kills, hitting at a .440 clip while adding seven digs, one ace and one block assist for a team-high 15.5 points.
- Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) finished with nine kills on 18 attacks to hit .278 and two block assists for 10 points.
- Two-time East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) totaled seven kills, three aces and six digs.
- Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) tallied eight kills while hitting .350 on the night along with four digs.
- Mina Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) led the Cats with four total blocks -- three solo and two assisted blocks -- and added three kills.
- Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.) totaled 23 assists and five digs.
In the first set, Gaylor put the Wildcats in front with consecutive kills, but Slippery Rock pulled even at 2-2 and the set stayed tight through a 13-13 tie. Despite The Rock taking an 18-16 lead, the Wildcats drew even on a SRU attack error and a kill from Craig before
Jolie Faw's kill gave the Wildcats a 19-18 edge. Tied at 21 all,
Mina Faw recorded a kill and laid down a big block to put the Wildcats at set point, 24-21. Slippery Rock fought off two set points, but Amelia Gonzalez (Juana Diaz, P.R.) finished the set with a kill to give the Wildcats a 25-23 win.
With the second set tied 5-5,
Jarielys Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) served the Wildcats through five straight points, including an ace and blocks involving
Mina Faw and Gonzalez, to move ahead 10-5. Daemen kept the margin at 14-9 before Craig's kill sent Gonzalez to the service line, where an ace, two Craig kills and a
Jolie Faw kill helped stretch the lead to 20-9. Slippery Rock later cut into a 22-12 deficit with five straight points, but
Mina Faw stopped the SRU run with a kill, and a Johnson kill finished the set with a kill to give the Cats the victory, 25-19.
The Wildcats started the third set with four straight points, getting two Gaylor kills and a Johnson ace to move ahead 4-0 before Slippery Rock worked back within 7-4. The teams traded points through the middle of the set until the Wildcats led 12-8, and Gonzalez's service turn produced four straight points on two
Jolie Faw kills, a block by Craig and Faw, and another Gaylor kill for a 16-8 advantage. Slippery Rock stopped that stretch with a kill, but the Wildcats kept answering, including a Craig ace for 19-10 and kills by Faw and Craig to reach 22-13.
Dayden Dyess (Wylie, Tex.) and Craig added consecutive kills to bring up set point, and a Slippery Rock attack error closed the Wildcats' 25-14 set win.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats are off this weekend but return to the court next weekend to open up ECC play downstate at St. Thomas Aquinas (Oct. 3) and Mercy (Oct. 4).
