AMHERST, N.Y. -- Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) of the Daemen University men's volleyball team picked up Northeast Conference honors this week after their play in helping the Wildcats to weekend victories over D'Youville and St. Francis Brooklyn. Schneider was named First Point/NEC Co-Player of the Week, while Zelasko picked up his first conference honor of his career, being named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer. The weekly awards are for competitions taking place Feb. 20 through 26. Daemen has earned weekly conference awards for seven straight weeks. 

For the second straight week and third time this season, Schneider was named First Point/NEC Co-Player of the Week, sharing this week's honor with Trevor Lewis of St. Francis. Schneider, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter, totaled 19 kills for an average of 2.71 kills per set along with 15 digs to average 2.14 digs per set on the weekend. After totaling eight kills for a .368 hitting percentage against D'Youville on Thursday night, Schneider led all hitters on the floor on Sunday with an 11-kill performance, finishing with a .333 hitting percentage and a team-high nine digs against the Terriers. The senior also tallied his 650th career kill in the victory over St. Francis Brooklyn. 

On the year, Schneider leads the Wildcats with 117 kills, averaging 3.34 kills per set for a .371 hitting percentage. Starting in 10 of Daemen's 11 matches this season, he ranks third on the team in service aces (14) and second on the team in digs, tallying 55 on the season to average 1.57 digs/set. He leads the team with 142.5 points this season, averaging 4.07 points per set. He has been named Player of the Week three times this season, and picked up five weekly conference awards this year. 

Zelasko, a 5-foot-10 freshman, picks up his first conference honor of his career. He was named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer after posting 17 kills (2.43 kills/set) and 17 digs (2.43 digs/set) over the weekend. Zelasko put together a career outing against the Saints on Thursday, finishing with a team-high 14 points after totaling 8 kills (2.0 kills/set) along with setting career highs in digs (10) and service aces (6). On Sunday, he followed up with a nine-kill performance and added seven digs and two solo blocks against St. Francis Brooklyn. 

The defensive specialist has made a splash in his first season at Daemen, moving up the ranks of the Wildcats to fifth on the team in kills (51), clipping an average of 1.46 kills per set. Zelasko has played in all 11 of Daemen's matches this year, and has started in eight matches. After putting together a six-ace outing against D'Youville last week, he moved up to second on the team in aces with 15, averaging 0.43 aces per set this season. Zelasko ranks fourth in digs (41), and has tallied 10 total blocks this season.

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, Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) has been named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Zelasko, 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 four times. 

Daemen is 10-1 on the season and is one of two teams with a perfect NEC record, sitting at 5-0 in conference play. The Wildcats are riding a nine-game win streak, and after Saturday's home match with Alderson Broaddus was canceled due to scheduling issues with the women's basketball team hosting the East Coast Conference tournament this weekend, Daemen is idle until next Thursday, March 9 when they play host to Long Island University in a 6 PM match. 

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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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