Men’s Volleyball Announces 2022 Schedule

11/19/2021 10:00:00 AM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

AMHERST, N.Y. – Highlighted by a nine-match homestand, three matches with other Western New York teams and road trips to Princeton and Loyola Chicago, the Daemen men's volleyball program announced their full 23-match schedule for a return to a traditional season in 2022. The Wildcats and fourth-year head coach Don Gleason are coming off an unorthodox 10-match season played this past spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing 10-0 overall with seven wins on the road. The Wildcats were the only NCAA Division I/II team to finish unbeaten on the season.

The action gets underway with the team's home opener against St. Francis (Pa.) on January 19 at 5 p.m. in Lumsden Gymnasium. This will be the first time Daemen will open the season on Main Street since hosting national powerhouse UCLA on January 2, 2020. Daemen then visits American International College (AIC) on January 21 followed by matches against Vassar and host Sacred Heart on January 22.

The Wildcats conclude their Northeast trip when they travel to New Jersey to face Princeton on January 23. A member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, Princeton did not play this past season due to COVID-19 protocols and most recently won the EIVA championship in the 2019 season – the last full season for the majority of NCAA teams.

Daemen travels home for a nine-game homestand – the longest in program history – by co-hosting the Battle For NY event with D'Youville on January 29 with matches against St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU Brooklyn at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Daemen then welcomes fellow WNY program, Medaille, for a home match on February 1. Daemen is 4-0 all-time against the Mavericks, including a 3-1 victory on March 5, 2021. Daemen welcomes St. John Fisher on February 6, a nationally ranked Division III team that the Wildcats won the season series against this past spring.

Daemen then finishes the month of February with home contests against AIC (February 12), Elmira (February 15), Nazareth (February 23) and Central State (February 26) before concluding with a home date against '716' opponent D'Youville (March 2.)

The Wildcats then take a trip to the Windy City in mid-March, starting with a visit to Loyola Chicago on March 13. The Ramblers came up just short of their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015 this past spring following a loss to nationally-ranked Lewis in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament finals, finishing with a 15-6 overall record. Daemen then faces Benedictine on March 14. Daemen's Midwest road trip continues in Fort Wayne, Indiana when they face the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons for a St. Patrick's Day tilt (March 17) followed by a date at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio on March 18.

Daemen returns to Main Street to host Fairleigh Dickinson for their final home contest of the regular season on March 26 starting at 4 p.m. Daemen then closes the regular season with road trips to St. Francis (Pa.) on April 1 and D'Youville on April 15.

Daemen will set their eyes towards returning to the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament, which will be held at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. on April 22-23. This would be Daemen's first appearance in the tournament since their inaugural season in 2019.

The Wildcats are set to return 14 players from their 2021 team, 12 of whom were also part of Daemen's 12-7 finish in 2020 – a season cut short due to the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Notable players returning in 2022 include outside hitters Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.), setter Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) and opposite hitter Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.).

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Follow the Daemen College men's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenMVB.

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