AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's volleyball team swept the Medaille College Mavericks in straight sets resulting in the first home regular season win in program history for the Wildcats with a match score of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-17.

Today's result snaps a five match losing streak for the Wildcats moving the team to 2-5. The loss dropped Medaille to 0-4 on the season. The Wildcats previously hosted Brock University on January 23rd in an exhibition match which resulted in a five set loss. The Medaille College Mavericks compete at the Division III level where they compete in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

Offensively for the Wildcats, freshman setter Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) led the way with a match high 26 assists. The Wildcats then led a balanced attack with three players having at least five kills with Kyle Kon (Oswego, N.Y.) leading with nine.

Defensively, the Wildcats combined to have 28 digs and four blocks. Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.) recorded a match high eight digs. 

The Mavericks were led by setter Matt Dempsey, who recorded 24 assists and Shawn Barbalato with eight kills. The Mavericks finished with 20 service errors in the three sets.

In the first set, the Wildcats and Mavericks traded blows for the first 26 total points leaving the match at 13-13 overall. However, Medaille rattled off a short four-point run. With the two team battling, the Mavericks took the lead 22-21. The Wildcats then capitalized off four straight errors to win the first set 25-22.

Unlike the first set, the Wildcats kept the Mavericks at bay holding onto a two to three point lead throughout the majority of the set. The Wildcats eventually took a 17-13 lead fending off the Mavericks to win the second set 25-21.

The final set proved to be a back-and-forth affair between the two until the Wildcats jumped out to a 19-14 lead. The Mavericks were able to get three points, but the Wildcats closed the third and final set out on a three-point run.

The Wildcats capitalized off 24.6 percent attacking percentage compared to the 6.3 percent for the Mavericks. 

Daemen officials announced the addition of men's volleyball in May of 2017. The addition was made possible by a $60,000 grant from the MotorMVB Foundation.  The MotorMVB Foundation (www.MotorMVB.com) is a non-profit organization that focuses on the growth of boys' and men's volleyball at all levels in the United States. Daemen became just the 27th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II men's volleyball program in the country when it made the announcement, and the only Division II team North of the Mason-Dixon Line.

The Wildcats will host the 5-6 Elmira College Soaring Eagles, a member of the United Volleyball Conference, on Wednesday, Feb. 13 in Lumsden Gymnasium in Amherst, N.Y.

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