Bob Blanchard

Men's Volleyball Hosts Nationally Ranked Golden Flyers Wednesday Night

Wildcats seeking sixth straight win

2/22/2022 12:00:00 PM

Match #10
Daemen Wildcats (7-2) vs. Nazareth Golden Flyers (16-4, 1-1 UVC)
Wednesday, Feb. 23 | 6 p.m. | Lumsden Gymnasium

Tickets (all tickets must be purchased online - no cash accepted at the door)
Watch (ECC Network)
Live Stats

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. ON A ROLL
The Daemen men's volleyball team continues the longest home stand in program history when they welcome nationally ranked NCAA Division III affiliate Nazareth to Lumsden Gymnasium for a Wednesday night battle. The Wildcats are looking for their sixth straight victory after extending their winning streak with a 3-0 defeat of Elmira last Tuesday night. Daemen, which has dropped only two sets in the last five matches, put down 39 kills on a .312 hitting percentage to get past the Soaring Eagles. The Wildcats are averaging 11.5 kills per set on a .300 hitting percentage in the course of their winning streak.

2. WHAT'S TRENDING
Led by fourth-year head coach Don Gleason, the Wildcats have hit their stride over the last few seasons. Dating back to early February 2020, Daemen has won 26 of their last 30 matches. The Wildcats are coming off a perfect 10-0 season in 2021 when they were the only NCAA Division I-II team to finish without a loss. The program holds an all-time record of 35-26 and they enter Wednesday's match having won 14 consecutive matches against Division II and III opponents.

3. GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen is limiting opponents to a hitting percentage of just .187 this season - second best among all NCAA Division I-II teams. During their five-match winning streak, the Wildcats are averaging 9.0 digs and 1.65 blocks per set. Their defensive prowess included 31 digs in last week's win over Elmira, a season-best for a three-set match. Junior libero John Jaworski led the way with a career-high 12 digs. At the net, the Wildcats are anticipating the return of junior middle Jake Couzens who has missed the last two matches with an injury. Couzens is averaging a team-high 0.62 blocks per set this season.

4. GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE
Daemen has shown great balance offensively with four players that have posted at least 10 kills in a match this season. Junior outside Zach Schneider leads the way, averaging 3.07 kills per set. The Western New York native is also producing 0.64 service aces per set - good for a top-10 ranking among the national leaders - and has posted 10+ kills in five of his seven matches this season. Graduate student Robert Patzer is coming off a team-high 16-kill performance vs. Elmira. Patzer has been used in a variety of ways this season, including as a setter. He's one of two players (Schneider) with a 20-kill match this season. Additional offensive production has come from Couzens (1.83 kills/set, two matches with 10+ kills) and junior outside Ryan Parker (1.88 kills/set, two matches with 10+ kills).

5. WHAT'S NEXT
Daemen plays their eighth of nine consecutive home matches this Saturday, Feb. 26 when first-year Division II program Central State comes to town.

NAZARETH SCOUTING REPORT
The Nazareth Golden Flyers are members of NCAA Division III and the United Volleyball Conference. Head coach Cal Wickens is in his 18th season at the helm and has led Nazareth to a 376-158 record to date. The Golden Flyers are off to a 16-4 start this season and were ranked 13th in last week's AVCA Division III Coaches Poll.

The Golden Flyers return 12 players from their 2021 team that finished 5-7 overall and 4-4 in UVC play. Sophomore outside hitter Owen Wickens and graduate outside hitter Antonio Sargent headline the Nazareth returners. Wickens was a First Team All-UVC selection and the league's Rookie of the Year in 2021. Sargent was named to the All-UVC Second Team. The duo is combining to average 5.68 kills per set this season (Wickens 2.71, Sargent 2.97). Wickens is also producing 1.02 services aces per set and has spent time playing setter, averaging a team-high 4.91 assists per set.

Additional production is coming from junior middle Colin Donahue (1.30 kills/set), freshman right side Josh Weaver (1.30 kills/set) and freshman middle Andrew Bodensteiner (1.34 kills/set).

The Golden Flyers opened the season with wins in 13 of their first 14 matches, but are just 3-3 in their last six. All four of their losses have come against nationally ranked teams. Daemen is the first non-Division III opponent on Nazareth's schedule this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NAZARETH
Series Record: 0-1
At Daemen: 0-0
Current Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: Nazareth 3, Daemen 2 (29-27, 25-17, 20-25, 17-25, 14-16) | Mar. 22, 2019 | at Buffalo, N.Y.

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