BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's volleyball team ran its winning streak to seven straight matches following wins over Medaille College and Elmira College here today during a tri-match hosted by Medaille. The Wildcats outlasted the host Mavericks 3-0 (27-25, 26-24, 25-15) and then capped the day with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-15) victory over Elmira.

Daemen, a NCAA Division II independent, has now won 10 of its last 12 matches and improved to 10-5 overall. The Wildcats won just six matches during their inaugural season last year. Medaille (6-7) is a member of NCAA Division III and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Elmira (5-10) is a member of NCAA Division III and the United Volleyball Conference.

Daemen remained unbeaten (3-0) in the all-time series with Medaille, and the Wildcats evened (1-1) their all-time series with Elmira.
 

IMPACT PLAYERS VS. MEDAILLE

• Graduate student Zach Yerington (Hamburg, N.Y.), freshman Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and sophomore Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.) combined for 24 of Daemen's 32 kills. Yerington totaled 11 kills, two service aces, three blocks and three digs. Schneider racked up seven kills, three blocks and four digs, while Winkfield totaled six kills with no attack errors, six blocks and three digs.
• Sophomore Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) and freshman Gavin Musielak (Edan, N.Y.) posted a combined 25 assists. Krueger totaled 14 assists, two aces and five digs, while Musielak added 11 assists and three digs.
• Freshman Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) turned in a solid match with three kills, a season-high five aces and a team-high 10 digs.
• Senior Nick Patterson paced a balanced attack for Medaille with five kills, while junior Jake Siwy added 15 assists and six digs.

SET-BY-SET SUMMARY VS. MEDAILLE

Set One (DC 27, MC 25) - Daemen jumped out to a 7-3 lead and later held a 10-7 advantage when the Mavericks put together an 8-2 run. A kill by Patterson capped the run and gave the hosts a 15-12 lead. The teams then traded points and Medaille held a 22-18 lead when the Wildcats scored four of the next five points and pulled to within a point at 23-22. Medaille was serving for the set at 24-22, but Daemen scored the next three points to take a 25-24 lead. Medaille evened the set at 25-25, but the Wildcats got back-to-back kills by Yerington and Musielak to secure the win.

Set Two (DC 26, MC 24) - The Mavericks held early leads of 6-4 and 10-7, before the Wildcats put together a 7-3 run and took a 14-13 lead following a service ace by Krueger. The Wildcats later took a 21-18 lead following a service ace by Yerington, only to have the hosts rally with five unanswered points—with the final four coming via Daemen attack errors. Daemen regrouped and later took a 24-23 lead following a kill by Winkfield. The Mavericks tied it at 24-24 following a Daemen service error, but Daemen closed out the set when Schneider and Winkfield combined for a block and sophomore Ryan Beck (Pittsburgh, Pa.) followed with a service ace.

Set Three (DC 25, MC 15) - Daemen scored the first eight points, but the Mavericks answered with a 9-3 run and pulled to within two points at 11-9. The Daemen lead was three points, 14-11, when the Wildcats took control with a 7-1 run. The Mavericks came no closer than seven points down the stretch.

IMPACT PLAYERS VS. ELMIRA

• Schneider, Yerington, Parker and Winkfield combined for 31 kills and just four attack errors, as the Wildcats posted 36 total kills and a hitting percentage of .491.
• Schneider contributed 10 kills, one attack error and a .643 hitting percentage. He also chipped in three service aces and a team-high seven digs. Yerington added eight kills, one attack error and a hitting percentage of .636. Parker finished with eight kills, two attack errors and a .429 hitting percentage, while Winkfield capped off his error-free day with five kills on five attempts. Winkfield also added a team-high four blocks.
• Krueger dished out 33 assists and registered two aces. He entered the day just 17 assists shy of 1,000 for his two-year career and has now totaled 1,030 assists in 36 career matches.
• Freshman Tyler Anderson paced the Soaring Eagles with five kills and two aces. Freshman Neiram Galan-Canales and senior Garrett Coleman combined for 15 assists.

SET-BY-SET SUMMARY VS. ELMIRA

Set One (DC 25, EC 14) - Daemen scored the first three points, but Elmira countered by scoring four of the next five and the set was tied at 4-4 early on. Neither team led by more than three points after that until a 6-2 run gave the Wildcats a 14-9 lead. The Daemen lead was three points, 15-12, when the Wildcats opened up a double-digit lead (23-13) following an 8-1 run.

Set Two (DC 25, EC 14) - The Wildcats jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, but the Soarding Eagles scored four of the next five points to make it 9-7 Daemen. The Daemen lead was  four points, 16-12 when the Wildcats used a 5-1 spurt to open up a 21-13 lead. Elmira scored the next point, only to have Daemen close out the set with four unanswered points.

Set Three (DC 25, EC 15) - Daemen once again jumped out to an early lead (7-2), and the Daemen lead was four points, 11-7, when a kill by Parker sparked the Wildcats on an 8-1 run that made the score 19-8. The Soaring Eagles came no closer than nine points after that.

NEXT SERVE
Daemen is idle until Saturday (Feb. 29) when it hosts Wells College in a pair of matches at Lumsden Gymnasium.