SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A number of individual players turned in solid performances but it wasn't quite enough as the seventh-seeded Bentley University women's volleyball team fell in five sets to second-seeded Daemen College in the first round of the NCAA Division II East Regional at American International College's Butova Gymnasium.

The scores were 25-17, 21-25, 18-25, 25-22 and 15-10 as the Wildcats moved on to Friday's semifinals. Bentley finished its season at 15-13.

Four Falcons had nine kills or more with Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year and sophomore right side Ellie Wheeler (Olathe, Kan./Saint James Academy) at the top of the list with 13 kills. Senior middle Shannon Ngo (San Rafael, Calif./Terra Linda HS) had 11 in her final collegiate match, junior Ingrid Murphy (Cotuit/Barnstable HS) put down ten and freshman Rachel Vitko (Dover, N.H./Dover HS) added nine.

Ngo hit an impressive .417 and also had two aces and two blocks.

Freshman Jazzy Burke (Lake George, N.Y./Lake George Central HS) served three aces and matched her career-best with 30 digs. Senior Katie Rounds (McFarland, Wis./McFarland HS) also equaled a career high as she was involved with eight blocks.

Bentley's 98 digs also included 24 by Murphy and 16 from senior setter Amanda Parker (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North HS), who also had 34 assists and four kills.

Bentley coach Joey Pacis was proud of his team's efforts throughout the season. "In my 20 years of coaching, the level of play in the region and consistently gone up. To earn an at-large bid speaks very high for our body of work."

It was a rough start for a young Bentley team as Daemen (23-7) was in control of the opening set. The Wildcats vaulted out to a 7-1 lead and extended the advantage to 16-5. The Falcons closed to within four, 17-13, but the deficit was too big to overcome.

"We were like a dear in headlights to start," said Pacis. "But we got through that and were very competitive the final four sets."

It was the Falcons who started fast in the second, using an 11-3 spurt to take a lead it would not give up. Four unanswered points brough the Wildcats within three, 24-21, before Murphy's kill squared the match at 1-1.

In the third, Bentley used a 9-1 run to go up 17-9 and went on to go up 2-1 on a Vitko kill.

After Daemen scored the first seven of the fourth, Bentley closed to within one at 23-22. However, the Wildcats secured the final two points to stay alive in the march.

The finale was even at 8-8 before seven of the final nine points went to Daemen, giving the Wildcats their tenth consecutive win.

Team stats were essentially the same with the exception of Daemen's superior hitting, .162-.114. In the final two sets, the Wildcats swung at a .258 success rate.

Daemen was led by freshman Amelia Armstrong (River Falls, Wis.), who hit .526 with 11 kills. Senior Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) was also a key contributor with 10 kills, 14 digs and three aces.

Following the match, Ngo commented "I'm very proud of this team. We left it all on the court today."