Volleyball Battles But Falls In Five Sets To Top-Seeded Daemen In 2021 ECC Championship Final

Amherst, N.Y.-In a match that showed why the second-seeded University of Bridgeport Purple Knights and the first-seeded Daemen College Wildcats were the top two teams all season long in the East Coast Conference standings, the visiting Purple Knights fell to the host Wildcats in five sets on Saturday afternoon, 25-15, 18-15, 25-19, 16-25, 6-15, in the 2021 ECC Women's Volleyball Championship match.  With the loss, UB closes out is season at 18-10, and Daemen moves on the 2021 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament with a 22-7 mark.

After traded the first four sets with the Purple Knights taking the first and third stanzas and the Wildcats winning sets two and four, Daemen took the fifth and deciding set with an 8-0 that turned a 5-4 lead into a 13-5 advantage and finally a 15-6 set victory.

Graduate student Amanda Hennemann (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) led three UB players in double-digit kills with 14, and she finished with a double-double recording 13 digs.

Two more Purple Knights finished with double-doubles, as senior Emily Burford (Albuquerque, N.M.) had 10 kills and a team-high 14 digs, and freshman Paola Hernendez (Bayamon, P.R.) slammed 10 kills with 12 digs.

UB freshman Melanie Smith (Ft. Collins, Colo.) finished just shy of her own double-double in the ECC Final with nine kills and eight digs.

Senior Amanda Keller (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) finished the match with eight kills, four blocks and two service aces for the Purple Knights.

Setter Jaden Drollinger (Fr., Queens Creek, Az.) finished the afternoon with 37 assists for Bridgeport.

Sam Logan and Vanessa Kuliga led Daemen, as they each recorded a team-high 14 kills.