AMHERST, N.Y. --
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and
Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) of the Daemen University men's volleyball team picked up weekly Northeast Conference awards after their performances in helping the Wildcats to back-to-back five set victories over Merrimack and Sacred Heart over the weekend. Schneider was named First Point/NEC Player of the Week, and Moffitt was named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer. The weekly awards are for competitions taking place Feb. 13 through 19. Daemen has earned weekly conference awards for six straight weeks.
Schneider, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter, finished the weekend with 38 kills (3.8 kills per set) and 21 digs (2.1 digs per set) in the pair of weekend wins over Merrimack and Sacred Heart. The senior tallied his first double-double of the season against the Warriors on Friday night, finishing with 12 kills (2.4 kills/set) for a .280 hitting percentage as well as a team-high 14 digs (2.8 digs/set) while adding two aces, an assist, a solo block and an assisted block. In Sunday's thriller, Schneider put together a career day, leading all hitters on the court with a career-high 26 kills (5.2 kills per set) on 50 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage, while finishing with a match-high 28 points and adding three assists, two assisted blocks and seven digs to his stat line.
On the season, Schneider leads the Wildcats with 98 kills, averaging 3.50 kills per set on the year for a .376 hitting percentage. He also leads the team with 13 service aces (0.46 aces per set), and ranks second on the team in digs (40) for an average of 1.43 digs per set, and ranks second in blocks with 13. Schneider tops the Wildcats with a total of 121 points on the year to average 4.32 points per set. This is his second Player of the Week award this season, and fourth weekly award.
Moffitt, a 6-foot-6 middle hitter, totaled 25 kills (2.5 kills per set) and nine blocks in Daemen's weekend conference sweep. The graduate student totaled 12 kills (2.4 kills/set) and a .526 hitting percentage against the Warriors on Friday night, while adding a team-high three solo blocks, an assisted block, two assists and an ace for a team-high 16.5 points. On Sunday, he finished with five assisted blocks, 13 kills (2.6 kills/set) and just two errors for a match-high .524 hitting percentage, while adding an assist and a dig to his stat line for 15.5 points in Daemen's 3-2 win over Sacred Heart.
Moffitt picks up his second straight Prime Performer honor this season, and his third weekly award of the year. He was the first Daemen player to be named NEC Defensive Player of the Week this season on Feb. 7 after his seven block, 8 kill performance in the final weekend of non-conference play. On the year, Moffitt leads the Wildcats at the net with 23 total blocks for an average of 0.74 blocks per set. He ranks third on the team in kills with 57 (1.84 kills per set) with just six errors all season to boast the highest hitting percentage on the team (.531).
The Wildcats have been represented in every NEC weekly report since the beginning of their season. Schneider and
Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) have each been named Player of the Week, Moffitt has been named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Schneider, Moffitt, Milligan,
Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) and
Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) have each been named Prime Performer this season. Califf and Moffitt have been named a Prime Performer twice while Schneider has earned Prime Performer three times.
Daemen University 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.
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