Geoff Schneider

Men's Volleyball Hosts Crosstown Rival D'Youville Thursday

2/22/2023 1:52:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

Match #10
D'Youville Saints (3-5, 0-3 NEC) vs. Daemen Wildcats (8-1, 3-0 NEC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
LIVE VISEO: via NEC Front Row / LIVE STATS: via Daemen Athletics / TICKETS: vis Daemen Athletics

HOME SWEEP HOME
Daemen will be playing its first home game since posting a 3-0 win over Central State on Jan. 28. The Wildcats are 3-0 at Lumsden Gymnasium this season and have won 12-straight home matches dating back to last season. Eight of the 12-straight home wins have been by a 3-0 score. Daemen is 15-1 at home since the start of the 2021 season.

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats remained unbeaten in league play after posting wins at Merrimack (3-2) and Sacred Heart (3-2) last weekend. Senior Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) finished the weekend with 38 kills (3.8 kills per set) and 21 digs. The senior tallied his first double-double of the season against the Warriors on Friday night, finishing with 12 kills as well as a team-high 14 digs. In Sunday's thriller, Schneider put together a career day, leading all hitters on the court with a career-high 26 kills on 50 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage. For his efforts he was named the First Point/NEC Player of the Week. Graduate student Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) was named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer after totaling 25 kills and nine blocks over the weekend.

FOR THE RECORD
Senior Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) established a new program record for assists during a five-set match against Sacred Heart on Sunday. He posted a career-high 57 assists in the 3-2 win, breaking the previous record of 54 set by current teammate Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) vs. Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 9, 2020.

50 WINS FOR GLEASON
Head coach Don Gleason posted his 50th career win during Daemen's 3-0 at D'Youville on Feb. 10. Gleason has posted a 52-31 record in his five seasons as head coach.

STAT CATS
Through nine matches, Daemen ranks atop the NEC in hitting percentage (.295), lowest opponent hitting percentage (.177), kills (12.03 kills per set), service aces (2.06 aces per set) and fewest opponent service aces (0.97 per set). Daemen also ranks third in the conference in assists (10.64 assists per set) and blocks (2.00 blocks per set). Schneider leads the league in points (4.32 points/set) and service aces per set (0.46), is fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.376) and third in kills (3.50 kills/set). Junior opposite Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) ranks sixth in the NEC in points (3.60 points/set) and sixth in aces (0.38 aces/set). Califf ranks third in the conference in assists (8.83 assists/set) and sixth in digs (1.97 digs/set). Moffitt ranks first in hitting percentage (.531) and ninth in blocks (0.74 blocks/set), while freshman Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) ranks ninth in service aces.

IMPRESSIVE START
Four of Daemen's eight wins this season have been perfect 3-0 Wildcat sweeps, including Daemen's first-ever NEC game played at two weeks ago. D'Youville. The Wildcats are averaging 12.0 kills per set compared to just 9.5 for their opponents, and are hitting with a .295 hitting percentage compared to .197 for opponents on the season. Six Wildcat players have notched 20+ kills on the season. The dynamic duo of Milligan and Schneider account for 184 of Daemen's 397 total kills on the season, and the pair of heavy hitters have also accounted for 24 of Daemen's 68 total aces on the year.

OFF THE BLOCK POLL
The Wildcats remain ranked sixth in the the Off The Block Division II Coaches Poll for week seven of the 2023 season, as released earlier today (Feb. 22). Off The Block is a website solely dedicated to the coverage of collegiate men's volleyball, and conducts a Division II national poll every Wednesday. Daemen has been included in 18 straight OTB polls.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return home to Lumsden Gymnasium on Sunday (Feb. 26) for a NEC match against St. Francis Brooklyn. St. Francis Brooklyn was voted second in the NEC preseason poll and is the last team to defeat Daemen at Lumsden Gymnasiun, posting a 3-2 in at Lumsden on Jan. 29, 2022.

SCOUTING THE D'YOUVILLE SAINTS
D'Youville won three of its first five matches, but has since gone winless (0-3) in conference play. The Saints suffered losses at Sacred Heart (3-0) and Merrimack (3-2) last weekend. On the season, the Saints are averaging 10.41 kills per set for a .215 hitting percentage, along with an average of 9.81 assists/set and 1.43 blocks/set. With a roster full of youth, the Saints are led by a handful of freshmen and sophomores. 6-foot-5 freshman outside hitter Kacper Taudul leads the Saints offensively, averaging a NEC-best 3.97 kills/set. Sophomore setter Randy Adorno ranks fifth in the NEC in assists per set (8.15) and also leads the team in digs (45), while 6-foot-5 sophomore middle blocker Tymek Brzoza has totaled a team-high 14 blocks.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. D'YOUVILLE
Series Record: 7-1 Daemen
Record at Lumsden: 2-0 Daemen
Win Streak: Daemen has won last 7 matches dating back to March 22, 2019
Last Meeting: 3-0 Daemen (25-18, 25-21, 25-14) | Feb. 10, 2023 | Buffalo, N.Y. (First ever NEC match for both programs)

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.

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

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