Graduate student Robert Patzer will be recognized in a pre-match ceremony Saturday

Wildcats Meet FDU In Home Finale Saturday

3/25/2022 10:30:00 AM

Match #17
Daemen Wildcats (12-4) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (5-8)
Saturday, Mar. 26 | 4 p.m. | Lumsden Gymnasium

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1. HOME SWEET HOME
The Daemen men's volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium for their final home match of the 2022 season this Saturday. The Wildcats welcome Fairleigh Dickinson to the Amherst campus for the teams' first-ever meeting. It marks just Daemen's second home match this month. The Wildcats have won eight straight and 13 of their last 14 matches at Lumsden Gymnasium.

2. SPLITTING SPRING BREAK
Daemen is coming off a long Midwestern road trip that saw them split four matches over six days. The Wildcats suffered losses to No. 11 Loyola Chicago (3-1) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) - both members of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Wins came against Division III opponents Benedictine (3-0) - the 2021 national runner-up - and Mount Union (3-1). The road trip finale at Mount Union saw junior Zach Schneider rack up 21 kills - one shy of his season-high - on a .459 hitting percentage, helping the Wildcats out-kill the Raiders 66-44. Schneider has led the Wildcat offense all season and ranks 32nd in kills per set (3.38) and 12th in aces per set (0.51) among the Division I-II national leaders.

3. COMING OF AGE
The Daemen men's volleyball program is in its fourth season of existence. Led by head coach Don Gleason, the Wildcats have gradually worked their way to respectability. After going 6-17 in their inaugural campaign (2019), the Wildcats posted a 12-7 mark in 2020, winning nine of 11 matches through February and March before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the final 10 matches of the season. In 2021, with the pandemic still very much raging, the Wildcats conducted a season without ever leaving New York State and finished 10-0 - the only NCAA Division I-II team without a loss. Add in the Wildcats' 12-4 start in 2022, and they've won 31 of their last 37 matches (dating back to February 2020). Their recent success has propelled them into the national conversation. Daemen is ranked seventh in the Off The Block Division II Coaches Poll, marking the ninth straight week they've been included in the poll.

4. SENIOR SALUTE
Graduate student Robert Patzer will be recognized in a pre-match ceremony to commemorate the final home match of his career. Patzer began his career at Division III Wells College where he was the 2020 North Eastern Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year and has been a staple in Daemen's lineup over the past two seasons. Since transferring to Daemen, Patzer has appeared in 24 of the team's 26 matches and totaled 169 kills, 204 assists, 26 aces, 123 digs and 36 blocks, helping the Wildcats to a 22-4 record. Unfortunately, Patzer will be out of action for the remainder of the season after getting injured last week at Purdue Fort Wayne. Daemen's three additional seniors - setter Michael Krueger, defensive specialist Jaden Gillette and middle hitter Henry Moffitt - are all planning to exercise an additional season of eligibility (COVID-19 pandemic) and will return to the team next season.

5. WHAT'S NEXT
Daemen visits the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash next Friday, April 1 for a 7 p.m. match.

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON SCOUTING REPORT
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights are independent members of NCAA Division I competing in the program's inaugural season. The Knights are one of six teams that will compete in the Northeast Conference which announced men's volleyball as the league's 25th championship sport beginning in 2023.

After the program was introduced in January 2021, Karl France was tabbed as FDU's first head coach a month later. France, who holds previous head coaching experience from a four-year stint at Rutgers-Newark, has recruited players from four states and four foreign countries to comprise FDU's inaugural roster.

The Knights head to Western New York with a 5-8 record and having won three of their last four matches. They play Friday night at D'Youville before facing the Wildcats Saturday.

Freshman outside hitter Jack Lydon has paced the FDU offense this season, averaging 3.34 kills per set. He ranks in the top 50 nationally for kills, aces and points per set. The Knights also feature freshman libero Grady Hoffman who leads the country in digs per set (3.23).

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
Series Record: 0-0
At Daemen: 0-0
Current Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

DID YOU KNOW?
Fairleigh Dickinson is the fourth first-year program Daemen has played this season. The Wildcats are unbeaten (4-0) in those games, picking up wins over American International (twice), LIU and Central State.

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