POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's volleyball team suffered two losses here today during a tri-match hosted by Vassar College. The Wildcats opened the day with a 3-0 (16-25, 20-25, 19-25) loss to nationally-ranked Springfield College, before suffering a 3-1 (19-25, 16-25, 25-21, 18-25) loss to the host Brewers. Both Springfield and Vassar are NCAA Division III members.
Daemen is now 6-15 in its inaugural season. Springfield, which also posted a 3-0 win over Vassar today, ran its winning streak to 10-straight matches and is now 25-2 on the year. The Pride entered the weekend ranked second nationally among NCAA Division III programs. SC has claimed five of the last seven NCAA Division III national titles. Vassar, which has participated in the NCAA Division III Tournament the past two years, is now 14-14.
Springfield held a 10-8 lead in the opening game against Daemen when the Pride put together a 10-5 run. A service ace by freshman Astin Sesoko capped the run and gave Springfield a 20-13 lead. Daemen scored three of the next four points, before the Pride secured the win with four unanswered points. Game two was a back-and-forth affair early on before a 5-2 spurt by Springfield gave the Pride an 11-8 lead. The SC lead was 16-14 when another 5-2 run gave the Pride its largest lead of the game (21-16). The teams traded points the rest of the game. SC scored five of the first seven points in game three and later opened up a 15-7 lead following a Daemen attack error. The lead was 23-13 when the Wildcats made things interesting with six unanswered points.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Casterline (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) and freshmen Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.) and Jesse Donorovich (Lockport, N.Y.) all had four kills for Daemen. Casterline and Winkfield both had three blocks for the Wildcats, while freshman Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) registered 11 assists, eight digs and two service three aces.
Sophomore Rafa Robert-Rodriguez paced the Pride with 13 kills, six aces and six digs, while sophomore Matt Lilly handed out 30 assists.
Vassar exacted some revenge on Daemen today after the Wildcats posted a 3-0 victory over the Brewers last weekend during a tri-match hosted by St. John Fisher College.
Daemen jumped out to a 7-4 lead in game one, before the Brewers put together a 10-3 run. The game was later tied at 15-15 when the Brewers took control with an 8-3 run. The Brewers took control of game two early, as they scored 10 of the first 14 points and later took a 21-9 lead. Daemen would not go down with out a fight and jumped out to a 10-4 lead in game three. Vassar chipped away at the lead and eventually cut it to two points (19-17), but Daemen regained control with a 4-2 run. The Wildcats held a 14-11 lead in game four, but the Brewers rallied with eight unanswered points for a 19-14 lead. Daemen later pulled to within two points, 20-18, but Vassar closed out the game and the match with five unanswered points.
Donorovich paced a balanced Daemen attack with 12 kills, while Casterline finished with 11 kills. Freshman Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) also reached double digits in kills with 10. Krueger totaled 29 assists and 10 digs, while freshman Ryan Beck (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in 10 digs and three service aces.
Junior Yoni Auerbach paced the hosts with 13 kills, five blocks and nine digs, while classmate Kevin Ros added 12 kills. Senior Daniel Halberg dished out 34 assists and added eight digs for the Brewers.
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.
Daemen closes out its inaugural season by taking part in the Independent Volleyball Association Tournament next weekend (April 12-13) at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.
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