MATCHES #16 / #17 - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29 - 1 PM / 3 PM
DAEMEN WILDCATS (10-5) VS. WELLS EXPRESS (16-3, 4-0 NEAC)
AMHERST, N.Y. (LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM)
THE SERVE: 10 THINGS TO KNOW
1. Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for their first home matches since the first of the month, hosting a doubleheader against nationally ranked Wells.
2. Daemen is in the middle of just the second season in program history. At 10-5 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. Since opening the season with losses to NCAA Division I powers UCLA, Pepperdine and Harvard, Daemen has gone 10-2 and they'll bring a seven-match winning streak into Saturday's contests. It ranks as the longest winning streak in the brief history of the program. The Wildcats extended the streak by sweeping two matches as part of the Medaille Tri-Match last weekend, defeating the host Mavericks as well as Elmira, both in straight sets.
4. Wells has won 16 of their 19 matches so far this season, including eight of their last nine. The Express come into Saturday's matches ranked ninth in the NVA/AVCA Division III national poll.
5. The only setback of late for the Express was a 3-2 loss to Daemen on Feb. 14. Daemen trailed 2-1 in the match but rallied for wins in the fourth (25-18) and fifth (16-14) sets in a match that was played as part of the Wells Classic Tournament. Zach Yerington and Zach Schneider totaled 18 kills apiece, and Michael Krueger notched 50 assists to lead the Wildcats. Robert Patzer finished with a match-high 20 kills to pace the Express.
6. In Daemen's 3-0 win over Elmira last Sunday, sophomore setter Michael Krueger became the first player in team history to reach 1,000 assists. Krueger leads the team with 363 assists this season.
7. Daemen's Zach Yerington was recently named the Independent Teams Player of the Week as well as the National Opposite of the Week by Off the Block. Yerington registered 36 kills and posted a .466 hitting percentage in Daemen's 3-2 win over Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 9. 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.
8. 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) and assists (64), and Sunday's win over Medaille included a record 11 service aces.
9. After going 5-13 against Division III opponents last season, Daemen is 7-1 in such matches in 2020. They've won five-straight with their only setback coming against nationally ranked St. John Fisher on Feb. 1.
10. Both Jahari Winkfield and Ryan Parker have set new individual benchmarks in recent weeks. Winkfield registered a tram-record nine blocks in Daemen's 3-1 win over Urbana on Feb. 9. Parker eclipsed the program record for service aces in a match, putting down five of them in Daemen's 3-0 sweep of Medaille on Feb. 23.
WELLS SCOUTING REPORT
- Wells is a member of NCAA Division III and the NEAC.
- The Express posted 28-9 overall record and a 7-3 mark in the NEAC last year. They went on to claim their first-ever NEAC Tournament title and advance to the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
- The Express are led by head coach Jim Nichols, who was promoted to head coach prior to the start of last season after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons. He is the third head coach in the nine-year history of the program.
- Wells has posted a 16-3 record thus far and is ranked ninth in this week's NVA/AVCA Division III poll.
- Wells returns seven players from last year's team, include a trio of all-conference performers.
- Senior outside hitter Caden O'Loughlin and junior right side hitter Robert Patzer both earned first-team all-conference honors last year. Patzer ranks second among NEAC players in kills per set (3.24) this year, while O'Laughlin ranks third (3.21). Patzer, who also leads the NEAC with 104 digs, has posted a season-high 20 kills in two matches this season including in an earlier matchup with Daemen on Feb. 14. O'Laughlin reached double figure kills in 10-straight matches earlier this season including a season-high 18 vs. Penn State Behrend on Feb. 2.
- Senior Josh Undari, a second team All-NEAC pick last year, ranks second in the conference in assists per set (9.05) and dished out a season-high 61 in an early-season 3-2 win at UC Santa Cruz.
SERIES HISTORY VS. WELLS
All-Time Series: Wells 2-1
At Daemen: Wells 1-0
Streak: Daemen won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, Wells 2 | Feb. 14, 2019 | at Aurora, 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 11.4 kills per set. Yerington set a new program record for kills in a match (36) during a Feb. 9 win over Lincoln Memorial and is averaging a team-high 3.33 kills per set. The 36 kills against LMU rank as the most by an NCAA Division I/II player so far this season. Schneider has posted 10+ kills in nine matches this season, including two with a season-high 19 (Feb. 9 vs. Urbana; Feb. 15 vs. Penn State Altoona). He's averaging 3.21 kills per set and leads the team in total kills (154) and service aces (17).
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. This season, he ranks fourth on the team in total kills (54) this year and leads in total blocks (29).
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. Thsi season, he's contributing 8.25 assists and a team-high 1.64 digs per set. He has posted career-highs for both assists (54) and digs (18) in the win over Lincoln Memorial. Krueger registered the 1,000th assist of his career during Daemen's 3-0 defeat of Elmira on Feb. 23.
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.
GOING STREAKING
Daemen has won seven consecutive matches - the longest streak in the brief two-year history of the program. The streak began with a 3-0 pasting of fellow Division II program Alderson Broaddus on Feb. 1. The Wildcats set new team benchmarks for hitting percentage (.634) and hitting percentage allowed (-.074) in the win. The streak has included thrilling 3-2 victories over Lincoln Memorial, the defending Independent Volleyball Association champs, as well as Wells, a nationally ranked Division III team.
NEXT SERVE
The Wildcats remain at Lumsden Gymnasium to host Urbana (Mar. 6) and St. Francis-Brooklyn (Mar. 7) next weekend.
