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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
parker mvb vs ucla
3
Winner Pepperdine PEP 2-0
0
Daemen DAEMEN 0-2
Winner
Pepperdine PEP
2-0
3
Final
0
Daemen DAEMEN
0-2
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Pepperdine PEP 25 25 25 (3)
Daemen DAEMEN 19 20 15 (0)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Ride Some Waves But Fall To #8 Pepperdine

AMHERST, N.Y. - Playing their second nationally-ranked opponent in as many regular season contests already this season, the Daemen College men's volleyball team was again impressive, albeit in defeat, as they fell to No. 8 Pepperdine University in straight sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-15) before a near capacity crowd at Lumsden Gymnasium tonight. 

With the loss, Daemen falls to 0-2 on the season. The Wildcats opened just the second season in program history with a 3-0 loss (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) to 19-time national champion and No. 2-ranked UCLA here on January 2. 

Pepperdine, which holds five national championships (second only to UCLA all-time) in its storied history, improved to 2-0 on the season. The Waves are the defending champions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and advanced to the national semifinals last season. They've finished in the top 10 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I-II poll in 22 of the last 23 seasons.  

TOP PERFORMERS
  • Senior outside hitter Noah Dyer led the way for Pepperdine, powering down a match-high 12 kills while attacking at a .550 clip. He added five digs as well.
  • Redshirt freshman Jacob Steele was next with six kills, and Pepperdine got 17 assists from senior setter Rob Mullahey.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Ben Weinberg totaled three of the Waves' seven service aces, and chipped in a match-high six digs. 
  • Right-side hitter Zach Yerington (Hamburg, N.Y.), a graduate transfer from Ohio State University, was the high man for Daemen with a season-high 10 kills. Yerington needed just 17 hitting attempts to crack double-figure kills, attacking at a .353 clip for the match.
  • Freshman outside hitter Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) totaled eight kills while committing just one error in 19 attempts (.368 hitting percentage), and classmate Zach Schneider (Lockport N.Y.) chipped in with six kills.
  • Sophomore setter Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) put up a match-high 26 assists, and added two service aces. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The highly thought of Waves opened up a 10-5 lead early in the first set, only to see Daemen rally back within a point at 12-11. The Wildcats got kills from Yerington, Parker and Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.), and a service ace from Jesse Donorovich (Lockport, N.Y.) during a 5-0 spurt.
  • Pepperdine re-established a firm lead at 19-12, thanks in part to back-to-back kills by JT Martin and Steele. Daemen closed to within 21-17 on a block by Yerington and Donorovich, but could get no closer in the set.
  • The Waves again jumped out to an early 13-8 lead in the second set, only to see Daemen rally back. The Wildcats evened the count at 15-15 and again at 16-16, but were never able to seize the lead. Pepperdine rattled off six-straight points, aided by two Daemen attack errors. Weinberg's service ace made if 22-16, and although Daemen climbed back within four (24-20), the Waves were able to close the set on a kill from Steele.
  • The third set opened with the teams splitting the first 14 points, but Pepperdine scored 12 of the next 15 to open up a 19-10 advantage. The run included seven-straight points. They cruised from there, getting a kill from Dyer to close the set and the match.
  • The Waves totaled 32 kills and had a .383 hitting percentage in the match. Daemen nearly matched them with 28 kills, but were undone in part by 17 hitting errors. The Wildcats held a .153 hitting percentage in the match, up from -.081 in their loss to UCLA.  

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen is competing in just the second season in program history. The Wildcats fielded a roster entirely of first-year college players last spring during a 6-17 campaign. The Wildcats boast a 17-man roster this year, essentially doubling the amount of available bodies from a year ago. The roster includes eight returners and nine newcomers.
  • Pepperdine is in the midst of the 50th season in program history. The Waves went 23-7 last season, and return three starters this year. Their seven returning letterwinners accounted for just 3% of their total kills last season.
  • Krueger has now reached double figure assists in all 25 matches he's played in since the start of last season. Tonight's output marked his 15th career match with 25+ assists.
  • Yerington's 10 kills are the most for a Daemen player this season. He's the first Daemen player with double-figure kills in a match since Donorovich (12), Brandon Casterline (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) (11) and Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) (10) all did so in a 3-1 loss to Vassar College on April 6, 2019. 

WHAT'S NEXT
Tonight's match was the first of three-straight at Lumsden Gymnasium this week. Pepperdine battles Harvard University on Wednesday evening, and Daemen closes the week by facing Harvard on Thursday. 
 
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