Men's Volleyball Returns To Action Saturday Vs. Medaille

2/8/2019 12:30:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
MATCH #7: Daemen Wildcats (1-5) vs. Medaille Mavericks (0-3)
Saturday, Feb. 9 | 1 p.m. | Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

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LIVE VIDEO
GAME DAY

THE SERVE
Daemen's inaugural season continues as they host Medaille in the first-ever regular season match at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats played in front of a home crowd last month in an exhibition match vs. Brock. Daemen is looking to jump back into the win column after suffering a trio of losses at the Juniata Invitational. Winter weather forced the postponement of their match Jan. 29 vs. Elmira, making Saturday's match vs. Medaille their first in two weeks. Medaille has also had some matches cancelled due to weather this season, and they'll come into Saturday's match looking for their first win.

THE BEARDED ONE
Don Gleason was named the first head men's volleyball coach at Daemen on May 5, 2017, the same day that the establishment of the program was announced. Gleason brings a wealth of experience to the position, including previous coaching stops at Stony Brook, Buffalo, Yale, Southern California and Medaille. In addition to his coaching responsibilities with the men's program, Gleason has served as an assistant coach with the Daemen women's team for the past three seasons, helping them to a pair of NCAA tournament berths.

THE FRESHMEN EXPERIENCE
Daemen is fielding a nine-man roster in this inaugural season, and all nine are freshman when it comes to athletic eligibility. Eight of the nine players are new to Daemen this year. Freshman setter Michael Krueger is expected to run the team's offense, and he'll be distributing to the likes of Jahari Winkfield and Jesse Donorovich, both of whom are adjusting to more playing time on the pin after playing primary in the middle during their respective scholastic careers. Australian product Henry Moffitt gives the Wildcats a big presence down the middle with his 6-foot-6 frame. Defensively, the Wildcats will rely on freshmen Ryan Beck and Jaden Gillette to dig balls in the back row.

OUT-BATTLING THE BATTLERS
Daemen picked up the first win in program history in their debut match, defeating the Alderson Broaddus Battlers in a five-set thriller on Jan. 11 as part of the Red Flash Invitational. Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.), Jesse Donorovich (Lockport, N.Y.), Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) and Jaden Gillette (Spencerport, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats. Winkfield, a 6-foot-4 right side/middle hitter totaled a team-high 20 kills—including six in the fifth set alone. Donorovich, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter/right side, posted 18 kills (five in the fifth set) and also totaled two service aces, five blocks and eight digs. Krueger, a 6-foot-2 setter, handed out 47 assists and also recorded eight digs. Gillette, a 5-foot-10 defensive specialist, registered 18 digs.

BUMPED BY BROCK
A late rally in the fifth set came up just short as Daemen dropped a 3-2 seesaw-like affair (23-25, 28-26, 23-25, 25-23, 12-15) to visiting Brock in exhibition action on Jan. 23. Although the outcome didn't count in their official win-loss record in this inaugural season, the match went down as the Wildcats' first-ever at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium. Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) led a balanced offensive effort for Daemen, finishing with 12 kills on 24 attempts without committing a hitting error (.500 hitting percentage). Brandon Casterline (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) attacked at a .474 clip, finishing with 11 kills on 19 attempts. Jesse Donorovich (Lockport, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 10 kills, and the Wildcats got eight kills apiece from Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.) and Kyle Kon (Oswego, N.Y.).

REGARDING HENRY
Freshman middle hitter Henry Moffitt was named to the all-tournament team at the Juniata Invitational. The 6-foot-7 Aussie totaled 16 kills over three tournament matches, and attacked at a .353 clip. He averaged 1.6 kills and 1.0 blocks per set, and became the first-ever Daemen player to earn all-tournament team honors.

MEDAILLE SCOUTING REPORT
Medaille is a member of NCAA Division III and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The Mavericks are led by veteran head coach Keith Koch who is now in his 16th season at the helm. In that time, Koch has led the Mavericks to a 280-195 overall record and five AMCC championships. The Mavericks return 11 players from their 2018 team that went 7-22 overall. Senior setter Matt Dempsey headlines the team's returners after earning second team All-AMCC honors in each of the last two seasons. The Clarence, N.Y. native averaged 8.04 assists per set in 2018, third-best in the AMCC. Shawn Barbalato (165 kills) and Matt Dickerson (155 kills) also return after ranking in the top-15 among the AMCC leaders in kills per set last season. After having the first three matches of their 2019 season cancelled due to weather, the Mavericks opened up with a trio of losses last weekend, falling to St. John Fisher (3-0), Elms (3-0) and Juniata (3-0).

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen is back in action at home when they host Elmira on Wednesday, Feb. 13 in a match that was re-scheduled from Jan. 29 due to weather.

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