AMHERST, N.Y. -  The Daemen men's volleyball team took a split of two matches at Lumsden Gymnasium today, falling 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 12-15) to the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers before sweeping the Long Island Sharks in three sets (25-18, 25-18, 28-26). Today's matches were played as part of the Battle For N.Y., a four-team event that Daemen co-hosted with D'Youville. 

The Wildcats saw their record move to 3-2 following today's results. Daemen was coming off a five-set win at Princeton last Sunday, but couldn't make it two in a row against members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. St. Francis Brooklyn, which is competing as an EIVA member for the first time after beginning its program as an NCAA Division I independent, improved to 1-1 this season with their defeat of the Wildcats. Daemen had won all three prior meetings with the Terriers, including a pair of wins in Brooklyn last April to close out their perfect 10-0 season. 

Daemen hit .348 in the opening set of the day, but the Terriers regrouped and powered down a combined 26 kills while taking the second and third sets. Daemen responded with 17 kills on a .481 hitting percentage in the fourth, forcing the match to a fifth and deciding frame.

In the fifth, the Wildcats fell behind with deficits of 6-3, 8-5 and 11-7, but battled back. Three straight points late in the set pulled the Wildcats within 14-12, but Andrea Lancianese came through with a kill for the Terriers to finish the set and the match. 

Lancianese recorded 18 kills to lead the Terriers, while David Vorfi and Bartek Zielinski notched 14 kills apiece. Setter Lucas Blanco posted a double-double, finishing with 43 assists and 10 digs. 

Daemen was led by graduate student Robert Patzer (Liverpool, N.Y.) who posted his second straight double-double. He connected for 20 kills and 14 digs - both career-high totals for his two seasons with the Wildcats. Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) also doubled up, finishing with 13 kills and 10 digs while Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.) chipped in 11 kills on a .421 hitting percentage. Senior setter Michael Krueger made his season debut and finished with a match-high 46 assists.

In the day's finale, both teams came out of the gates swinging. LIU racked up 13 kills on a .480 hitting percentage in the opening set, but Daemen was better. The Wildcats hit .583 and totaled 17 kills while taking the set by seven. 

The LIU offense sputtered from there, combining for 16 kills and 16 hitting errors in the second and third sets. Still, they looked poise to send the match to a fourth set after building a 21-18 lead in the third. Patzer and Schneider recorded service aces during a 6-1 spurt that put the Wildcats back in command. The Sharks fended off a series of match points and had their own chance to end the frame when leading 25-24. Back-to-back kills from Couzens and Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) allowed the Wildcats to shut the door.

Couzens hit .533 with a match-high 10 kills to lead the Wildcats. Parker added nine kills and nine digs while sophomore Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) tossed in nine kills as well. Patzer played exclusively at setter against LIU and recorded 34 of Daemen's 38 assists.

Jordan Cooper paced the Sharks with eight kills while Luca Holanda tallied 19 assists. The Sharks, an NCAA Division I independent competing in their inaugural season, dropped to 1-5.

It marked the fifth win in Daemen's program history against an NCAA Division I opponent, and their second this season. The Wildcats compete as an NCAA Division II independent and are in the midst of the fourth season in program history.

Daemen came into the matches ranked eighth in the Off The Block Division II Coaches Poll. The Wildcats have won 22 of their last 26 matches dating back to early February 2020. 

Daemen returns to action Tuesday, February 1 when hosting crosstown rival Medaille. First serve is set for 6 p.m.