MATCH #14 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 - 11 AM
DAEMEN WILDCATS (8-5) VS. MEDAILLE MAVERICKS (6-6, 1-0 AMCC)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (SULLIVAN CENTER)
MATCH #15 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 - 1 PM
DAEMEN WILDCATS VS. ELMIRA EAGLES (5-9, 1-1 UVC)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (SULLIVAN CENTER)
THE SERVE: 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHES
1. Daemen plays in "the 716" for the first time in three weeks when they visit the Sullivan Center for the Medaille Tri-Match. The Wildcats will be playing just six miles from their own campus and will face Western New York rival Medaille as well as Elmira.
2. Daemen is in the midst of just the second season in program history. At 8-5 this season, the Wildcats have already eclipsed the win total from their inaugural season. With a roster comprised entirely of first-year college players, the Wildcats went 6-17 last year.
3. Daemen has gone 8-2 since opening the year with losses to NCAA Division I powers UCLA, Pepperdine and Harvard, and they'll bring a five-match winning streak into Sunday's contests. It marks the longest winning streak in the brief history of the program. The Wildcats extended the streak by sweeping three matches at last weekend's Wells Classic Tournament, including a 3-2 win over the host Wells Express, a team ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Division III national poll.
4. The Wildcats are 3-0 against Division II programs this season after posting wins over Alderson Broaddus (3-0), Urbana (3-1) and nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial (3-2).
5. The win over LMU ranks as arguably the biggest win in the brief history of the program. LMU is the two-time defending champion of the Independent Volleyball Association Tournament and entered the match on Feb. 9 ranked No. 7 among Division II programs by Off The Block. The Railsplitters defeated Daemen, 3-0, in the opening round of last year's IVA Tournament en route to winning the IVA Tournament title. Daemen rallied from two sets down in the win, outlasting the Railsplitters 18-16 in the fifth and deciding set to secure the victory.
6. Several new team records have been established in recent weeks. Daemen's win over Alderson Broaddus on Feb. 1 featured new program records for hitting percentage (.634) and hitting percentage allowed (-.074) in a single match. The win over LMU featured new records for kills (66), assists (64) and service aces (9) in a match.
7. The Wildcats own a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with Medaille, and Sunday's meeting is their first since a 3-1 Wildcat victory on Feb. 17, 2019. Elmira scored a 3-1 win over Daemen in the teams' only meeting last season (Feb. 13, 2019). After going 5-14 against Division III opponents last season, Daemen is 5-1 against such programs this year.
8. Daemen's Zach Yerington earned two weekly honors from Off The Block last week. The 6-foot-5 graduate student was named the Independent Teams Player of the Week as well as the National Opposite of the Week. Yerington registered 36 kills and posted a .466 hitting percentage against LMU. The performance will certainly go down as the most impressive to date in the brief two-year history of Daemen's program as Yerington smashed the previous team record for kills in a match (21 set last season by Jahari Winkfield). His 36 kills are also the most for any Division I/II player in a single match this season.
9. Sophomore setter Michael Krueger leads the team with 316 assists. He's reached 50 assists twice in recent matches, putting up a career-high 54 in Daemen's win over Lincoln Memorial and another 50 against Wells.
10. Daemen is holding opponents to a .212 hitting percentage this season. They rank ninth in opponent hitting percentage among the 45 NCAA Division I/II teams.
MEDAILLE SCOUTING REPORT
- Medaille is a member of NCAA Division III and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
- The Mavericks are led by head coach Keith Koch. Now in his 17th season at the helm, Koch has compiled a 294-215 record wirth the program.
- Medaille returns nine players from the 2019 team that went 8-17 overall and 4-10 in AMCC play.
- The Mavericks have split their first 12 matches this season and bring a two-match winning streak into the weekend. The most recent win came this past Wednesday in their AMCC opener as they defeated Thiel 3-1.
- Chris Pauline, Jr., a junior outside hitter from North Tonawanda, is contributing 2.73 kills per set to lead the Mavs.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MEDAILLE
All-Time Series: Daemen 2-0
At Medaille: Daemen 1-0
Streak: Daemen won 2
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Medaille 1 | Feb. 17, 2019 | at Buffalo, N.Y.
ELMIRA SCOUTING REPORT
- Elmira is a member of NCAA Division III and the United Volleyball Conference.
- Now in his fourth season with the Eagles, head coach Daniel Miranda leads the program. Miranda holds a 49-60 overall record with the Eagles to date.
- Elmira is returning just six players from their 2019 team that went 13-18 overall and 2-7 in UVC play.
- The Eagles have posted a 5-9 record so far in 2020 and are coming off a 3-0 win over Bard last Sunday.
- Tyler Anderson, one of seven freshmen on the roster, is averaging 2.98 kills per set to lead the team.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ELMIRA
All-Time Series: Elmira 1-0
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Current Streak: Elmira won 1
Last Meeting: Elmira 3, Daemen 1 | Feb. 13, 2019 | at Amherst, N.Y.
THE DAPPER DON
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 four seasons, helping them to a pair of NCAA tournament berths. In the men's inaugural season, Gleason guided a group entirely comprised of first-year college players to a 6-17 overall record. His first head coaching victory came in the program's first-ever match - a 3-2 defeat of Alderson Broaddus on Jan. 11 at the Red Flash Invitational hosted by St. Francis (Pa.).
COMPLIMENTS FROM A GIANT IN THE GAME
In a recent interview on The Jerry Sullivan Show (1270 The Fan), UCLA and U.S. Men's National Team coach John Speraw had some very complimentary things to about Daemen head coach Don Gleason. Speraw said, "He's really been incredibly thorough about everything in terms of how he's growing it, how he really worked hard at Daemen to make it happen, obviously now how he's going out recruiting... he's out working hard so I'm guessing they're going to be good quick. He's a good coach and he's working it."
STIFF TESTS
Daemen's first three regular season contests of 2020 came against some of the top programs in the country. In addition to hosting 19-time national champion and No. 2-ranked UCLA in their season opener, Daemen also welcomed 2019 national semifinalist Pepperdine (Jan. 14) and Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association fixture Harvard (Jan. 16) to Lumsden Gymnasium, all in the first three weeks of January. Pepperdine is the defending champion of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and came in as the No. 8 ranked team in the AVCA Division I-II national poll. Harvard came in with six top-four finishes in the last eight seasons within the EIVA. In addition, Daemen will face Division I opponents Ball State (away, Feb. 8), St. Francis-Brooklyn (home, Mar. 7; away, Apr. 3) and St. Francis (Pa.) (away, Mar. 27) this season.
THE FRESHMAN EXPERIENCE
Competing in the program's inaugural season in 2019, Daemen fielded a nine-man roster comprised entirely of first-year college players. The Wildcats posted a 6-17 overall record in 2019. The first match in program history resulted in a win - a 3-2 defeat of Alderson Broaddus on Jan. 11. The Wildcats went on to add a pair of wins over crosstown rival Medaille, as well as single defeats of Lasell, D'Youville and Vassar. They closed the campaign by competing in the Independent Volleyball Association Tournament hosted by Lincoln Memorial in The Volunteer State. Eight players, including all six starters and the team's top libero, return to the mix in 2020.
ZACH ATTACK
The 2020 roster features nine newcomers, headlined by the addition of graduate transfer Zach Yerington and freshman Zach Schneider. Yerington, a 6-foot-5 right-side hitter, helped Ohio State to national championships in 2016 and 2017. Schneider, a 6-foot-6 outsider hitter, was originally committed to defending national champion Long Beach State, but opted to re-open his recruitment during the fall semester, ultimately landing here with the Wildcats. The two have paced an offense that is averaging 11.17 kills per set. Yerington set a new program record for kills in a match (36) during the win over Lincoln Memorial and is averaging a team-high 3.53 kills per set. The 36 kills against LMU rank as the most by an NCAA Division I/II player so far this season. Schneider had 19 kills and just one attack error in the win over Urbana and is averaging 3.13 kills per set. He also leads the team in service aces (12).
WINK, WINK
Sophomore right-side/middle hitter Jahari Winkfield headlines Daemen's group of returners. The 6-foot-4 Illinois native led Daemen with 222 kills and 2.81 kills per set in 2019, and was the lone Wildcat to be named to the Off the Block All-Independent Team. Winkfield reached 10 kills in 10 matches last season, including three with 20 or more. He tallied a career-high 21 kills in a five-set loss to Misericordia. He ranks fourth on the team in total kills (31) this year and is tied for the team lead in total blocks (16).
ASSIST MAN
Sophomore setter Michael Krueger returns to the fold after handling the bulk of setting duties as a rookie in 2019. Krueger totaled 667 assists last season, good for an 8.04 assists-per-set average. He topped 40 assists in four matches last season, including a season-high 47 while making his collegiate debut in a 3-2 defeat of Alderson Broaddus. He also led the team in total digs (150) and digs per set (1.81), and ranked second on the team in service aces (19). Krueger notched three double-doubles in 2019, including 43 assists and 14 digs in a four-set win over D'Youville. He leads the team in assists per set (8.47) and digs per set (1.87) this year and posted career-highs for both assists (54) and digs (18) in the win over Lincoln Memorial.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Sophomore defensive specialist Jaden Gillette totaled 134 digs and averaged 1.79 digs per set while appearing in all 23 matches in 2019. Those efforts have him being mentioned alongside some of the top defensive players in the country as he was recently named to Off the Block's Erik Shoji Award Watch List. The award is given annually to the top libero competing within NCAA Division I-II.
NEXT SERVE
The Wildcats return to Lumsden Gymnasium to host Wells in a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 29 with matches slated for 12 and 3 p.m.
