Rockville Centre, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2017) – A three-set victory over Daemen College earned the Molloy volleyball team the title of Regular Season Co-Champion as well as the top seed in the upcoming East Coast Conference Championship.

Set-By-Set
Molloy 25, Daemen 21
Molloy 25, Daemen 17
Molloy 25, Daemen 21

The teams spent much of the first set tied until Molloy, led by seven kills in the set from freshman Kacey Affrunti (Levittown, N.Y.), took nine of 11 points for a 20-13 lead. The Wildcats continued attacking, coming within two, 22-20, but kills from Affrunti and sophomore Hailey Wehr (Wading River, N.Y.) sealed the first set in favor of the Lions.

Wehr gave the maroon and white a five-point lead, 17-12, in the second set before the home team capitalized on errors from Daemen to take a 20-13 lead. Five of the final nine points went in favor of Molloy to take the 25-17 set win.

A kill from Affrunti knotted the score, 17-17, in the third set. Redshirt sophomore Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) added three of her 12 kills on the afternoon to help push the maroon and white in front, 23-21 before two service aces from freshman Brittany Palladino-DesLauriers (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) erupted Quealy Gymnasium into a celebration as the team secured its spot as #1 in the ECC.

Banks and Affrunti each tallied a game-leading 12 kills while Wehr added 11. Banks also led with three total blocks. Sophomore Sophia Smith (Georgetown, Texas) totaled 39 assists while senior Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.), who was recognized in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony, added two helpers and led the contest with 24 digs.

The East Coast Conference Volleyball Championship will be hosted by Molloy at Quealy Gymnasium on Friday (Nov. 17). The top-seeded Lions will face #4 University of Bridgeport at 5:00 p.m.