AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's volleyball team saw their seven-match winning streak come to an end as they dropped a pair of five-set matches to Wells College this afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.
Daemen, a NCAA Division II independent, had won 10 of their previous 12 matches before today's setbacks, and their seven-match winning streak was the longest in the brief two-year history of the program. The Wildcats stand at 10-7 overall this season.
Wells, a member of NCAA Division III and the North Eastern Athletic Conference, improved to 18-3 on the season. The Express are ranked ninth in the latest NVA/AVCA Division III national poll. Today's wins helped them avenge a five-set loss to Daemen at their home gym back on February 14.
IMPACT PLAYERS (MATCH #1)
- Robert Patzer paced a quartet of players with double figures kills for Wells, finishing with 15 on 39 attempts. Joe Zimmerman (14 kills), Justin Williams (13 kills) and Caden O'Loughlin (13 kills) produced offensively as well. The quartet combined for 55 of Wells' 60 kills in the match.
- Josh Undari posted a match-high 43 assists and the Express got key defensive contributions from Zimmerman, Patzer and O'Loughlin who all recorded nine digs.
- Daemen was far less balanced offensively, getting a match-high 17 kills from freshman Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.), but no more than seven from any other player. Schneider added a team-high eight digs as well.
- Sophomore setter Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) recorded 30 assists for the Wildcats and Zach Yerington (Hamburg, N.Y.) finished with seven kills, six digs and five blocks. Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.) added four blocks.
SET-BY-SET SUMMARY (MATCH #1)
Set One (DC 28, WC 26) - Daemen claimed the opening set despite being out-hit in terms of total kills (Wells 15, Daemen 11) and hitting efficiency (Wells .265, Daemen .161). There was no more than a three-point spread between the teams throughout the set. Wells took a 24-23 lead on a kill by O'Loughlin, but Daemen battled back with two-straight points, including a kill from Yerington. Wells fought off two set points, getting kills from O'Loughlin and Zimmerman before Daemen finally closed it out. The Wildcats benefited from a bad set by the Express to take a 27-26 lead, and then got a combined block by Yerington and Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) to provide the required two-point margin.
Set Two (WC 25, DC 17) - Daemen took an early 6-5 lead following back-to-back kills by Yerington and Krueger. But Wells won 12 of the next 16 points to open up a 17-10 advantage. Daemen cut the deficit to 22-17 following a block by Yerington and Winkfield, but got no closer. Daemen managed just five kills in the set compared to 10 for the Express.
Set Three (DC 25, WC 20) - It was a quick 4-0 spurt that turned a 12-11 deficit into a 15-12 lead for Daemen, an advantage they would not relinquish as they took a 2-1 lead in the match. Schneider and Winkfield notched kills and Yerington added a service ace in the spurt. The Daemen lead reached 21-16 following a solo block from Yerington. They picked up three late points thanks to errors by the Express to close the set. The Wildcats hit .346 and totaled 11 kills in the set.
Set Four (WC 25, DC 22) - Daemen managed eight kills and committed just one hitting error in the fourth, but Wells regrouped offensively to hit .345 with 15 kills while evening the match. Daemen led 19-18, but surrendered four-straight points to Wells including a pair of kills by O'Loughlin and another from Patzer. O'Loughlin struck again for Wells' 24th point of the set, but Daemen fended them off with a kills from Schneider. The comeback was short-lived however as a Daemen service error ended things.
Set Five (WC 15, DC 10) - Daemen took an early 2-1 lead, but Wells responded with an 11-3 run to seize control. The Wildcats got within four at 13-9 and again at 14-10, but the hill was too steep to climb. Patzer's kill shuddered the set and the match. Wells notched eight kills in the frame while Daemen had more errors (5) than kills (4).
IMPACT PLAYERS (MATCH #2)
- Patzer put down a match-high 19 kills and did so on a .382 hitting percentage to pace the Express.
- Zimmerman and Williams tossed in eight kills apiece, and contributed defensively as well. Zimmerman added 11 digs while Williams totaled four blocks. O'Loughlin chipped in with a match-best 12 digs.
- Darean Schug handled setting duties for the Express and posted a match-high 43 assists.
- Daemen was led by redshirt sophomore Brandon Casterline (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) who totaled a career-high 12 kills on a .625 hitting percentage.
- Moffitt added a season-high 10 kills, while freshmen Matthew Garry (Depew, N.Y.) and John Jaworski (Naperville, Ill.) contributed as well. Garry recorded eight kills, four service aces and six digs. Jaworski, who was Daemen's libero in the opening match, saw some time on the pin and finished with a season-high seven kills to go with eight digs.
- Ryan Beck (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.) led the Daemen defense, each finishing with season-high efforts in digs (Beck 11, Couzens 10).
- Freshman setter Gavin Musielak (Eden, N.Y.) recorded a season-high 38 assists.
SET-BY-SET SUMMARY (MATCH #2)
Set One (WC 25, DC 17) - Wells never trailed in the opening set, jumping out to leads of 8-5, 14-8 and 17-9. The Express increased their advantage to 22-12 following a pair of Daemen errors. The Wildcats managed to go on a 5-2 run to make things a bit more respectable, but Christian Hahn closed the set for Wells with a kill.
Set Two (DC 25, WC 18) - The Wildcats flipped the script in set number two, scoring the first five points of the frame and jumping out to an 8-1 lead. Wells got within 11-10 following a kill by Williams, but Daemen re-established control by winning nine of the next 11 points. Musielak, Garry and Casterline all recorded kills in the spurt which was capped by a combined block by Casterline and Couzens. Wells climbed back within six points (24-18) but Jaworski ended the frame with a kill. Daemen totaled 10 kills on a .350 hitting percentage in the set.
Set Three (WC 25, DC 20) - Daemen took a 7-4 lead on an early kill by Garry, but Wells came back with a 7-1 run to go ahead 11-8. The teams went back and forth from there, but Wells never relinquished the lead. After Daemen pulled within 16-15, Zimmerman and Cooper Colesante combined on a block, and Zimmerman followed with a kill to keep the Wildcats at bay. A short 3-0 spurt that included a pair of kills from Patzer put the Express ahead by five (22-17) and they went on to close the set with a Colesante kil.
Set Four (DC 25, WC 17) - Daemen would not go quietly though. They dominated the early portions of the fourth set, racing out to leads of 6-2, 10-4 and 15-8. The seven-point edge came after a service ace by Musielak and prompted a Wells timeout. Four times the Express got within five points, but never any closer. Casterline, Moffitt and Jaworski all recorded kills down the stretch to help Daemen even the match.
Set Five (WC 15, DC 8) - Wells was able to regroup in time for the deciding set, totaling nine kills without a hitting error in the period. Patzer and O'Laughlin each pounded down a pair of kills during a set-opening 9-3 run. Daemen got within 10-6 on a kill by Casterline, and 13-8 on a kill by Garry, but another Patzer kill and a misplayed ball by the Wildcats ended the set and the match.
NEXT SERVE
Daemen will host new Division II program Urbana (Friday, March 6) and new Division I program St. Francis-Brooklyn (Saturday, March 7) at Lumsden Gymnasium next weekend.
