Match #13
Daemen Wildcats (11-1, 6-0 NEC) vs. Concordia Irvine Golden Eagles (5-12, 0-4 MPSF)
Date: Wednesday, March 15
Time: 7 PM PT (10 PM ET)
Location: Irvine, Calif. | CU Arena
Live Stream: via
Stretch Live
Live Stats: via
cuigoldeneagles.com
Match #14
Daemen Wildcats (11-1, 6-0 NEC) vs. #7 Pepperdine Waves (12-8, 4-2 MPSF)
Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 6 PM PT (9 PM ET)
Location: Malibu, Calif. | Firestone Fieldhouse
Live Stream: via
WCC Network
Live Stats: via
pepperdinewaves.com
Match #15
Daemen Wildcats (11-1, 6-0 NEC) vs. #12 Cal State Northridge Matadors (12-5, 1-0 Big West)
Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 7 PM PT (10 PM ET)
Location: Northridge, Calif. | Premier America Credit Union Arena
Live Stats: via
gomatadors.com
WILDCATS GO WEST
For the first time in program history, the Daemen University men's volleyball team is headed west! The Wildcats are taking their talents to California to play three matches over spring break this week. Daemen will open up the road trip with a match at Concordia Irvine on Wednesday evening, then will travel up to Malibu on Friday for a match at 7th ranked Pepperdine before rounding out the trip with a Saturday evening match at 12th ranked Cal State Northridge. The Wildcats will face Concordia Irvine and CSUN for the first time ever, and face off against Pepperdine for the second time in program history, and the first time since the 2020 season.
WINNING WAYS
The Wildcats are just over halfway through the 2023 season. Daemen comes into the California trip wth an 11-1 record and are riding a 10-game win streak, matching the program's longest win streak during a season for the Cats. The Wildcats went 10-0 during the COVID-19 shortened 2021 season. The overall program record for consecutive wins is 13. The Wildcats won the final two games of 2020, went undefeated (10-0) in 2021 and won their first game in 2022 before suffering a 3-2 loss to Sacred Heart. Daemen's 10-game win streak is the longest active win streak in the country among Division I/II teams. Defending national champion and #1 ranked Hawaii snapped a 24-game win streak over the weekend with a 1-3 loss against #3 Penn State on Friday night.
CATS MOVE TO 6-0 IN NEC PLAY
After a 3-0 takedown over Long Island University on Thursday night, Daemen is the only team in Northeast Conference play with an undefeated conference record. The Wildcats handed the Sharks their first NEC loss of the season to drop to 3-1 in the league and 8-8 overall. The heavy hitting pair of
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and
Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) each totaled 11 kills and helped Daemen out-kill LIU 43 to 31 in the victory. The Wildcats remained perfect (6-0) at home and have now won 15-consecutive home matches dating back to last season, which marks the second-longest home win streak in the country behind Lincoln Memorial (24).
DAEMEN'S DYNAMIC DUO
The Wildcats' heavy hitting pair of
Zach Schneider and
Cameron Milligan have been a force to be reckoned with this season. Schneider leads the team in kills (128) and ranks third in the NEC with 3.37 kills per set, while Milligan ranks second on the team offensively (115 kills) and seventh in the league with 2.95 kills/set. Schneider's .369 hitting percentage ranks third in the conference. The dynamic duo lead all of the NEC at the baseline as well, with Milligan's 19 aces (0.49 aces/set) at the top of the conference and Schneider's 18 aces (0.47) ranked second overall.
FOR THE RECORD
Senior setter
Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) established a new program record for assists during a five-set match against Sacred Heart back on Feb. 19. 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. In his first season as a Wildcat, Califf has played in 11 of Daemen's 12 matches this season and leads the NEC with 9.13 assists per set. The senior has made quite the impact at Daemen this year, and leads the team defensively with 73 digs (1.92 digs/set), which ranks fifth in the NEC, and totaling 18 blocks (0.47 blocks/set) to rank third on the team at the net.
MOFFITT THE RELIABLE
Middle hitter
Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) leads the Wildcats at the net with 35 total blocks to average 0.85 blocks per set, ranking him fifth in the NEC. The graduate student has tallied multiple blocks in eight of the 12 matches he's played in this season, and tallied a season-high six blocks on Thursday against LIU. On the year, Moffitt has totaled 73 kills (1.78 kills per set) and leads all NEC players with an impressive .449 hitting percentage after totaling just 12 hitting errors on just 136 attacks.
STAT CATS
In matches played through March 14, Daemen ranks atop the NEC in hitting percentage (.294), lowest opponent hitting percentage (.166), kills (12.16 kills per set), service aces (2.07 aces per set), fewest opponent assists (8.74 per set) and fewest opponent service aces (0.93 per set). Daemen also ranks second in the conference in assists per set (10.79) and blocks per set (2.21). Moffitt leads all NEC hitters with a .449 hitting percentage and ranks fifth in blocks (0.85 blocks/set). Schneider ranks second in the league in points (4.20 points/set), third in both kills (3.37 kills/per set) and hitting percentage (.369), second in service aces per set (0.47 aces/set) and eighth in digs (1.68 digs/set). Junior opposite Milligan ranks fifth in the NEC in points (3.72 points/set), first in aces (0.49 aces/set) and seventh in kills (2.95 kills/set). Califf leads the conference in assists (9.13 assists/set) and ranks fifth in digs (1.92 digs/set), while freshman
Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) ranks fourth in the league in service aces per set (0.42).
WEEKLY AWARDS
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) has already been named the First Point/NEC Player of the Week four times this season and he has also been named a First Point/NEC Weekly Prime Performer two times. Daemen has produced the First Point/NEC Player of the Week in five of a possible nine weeks this year. Junior
Cameron Milligan (Pavillion, N.Y.) has also collected the honor, while graduate student
Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) has been named the First Point/NEC Defensive Player of the Week twice.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Lumsden Gymnasium for a pair of NEC matches next weekend. Daemen will host Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, March 24 for a 6 PM match, then turn around and play St. Francis on Saturday (March 25) in a 4 PM matchup.
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA IRVINE GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles come into Wednesday's match with a 5-12 record on the year, and are still looking for their first win in the tough Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) conference play (0-4). Concordia Irvine is riding a five-game losing streak after playing five straight matches against teams ranked in the ACVA top-10, falling to No. 8 BYU twice, No. 2 UCLA twice and No. 3 Penn State. CUI boasts a roster of 25 players, and while only five of those players are upperclassmen, the team has height for days, with 23 players coming in at 6-foot or taller. The Golden Eagles average 10.7 kills per set, and are led offensively by 6-4 senior opposite
Uriel Batista, who tallies 209 kills (4.10 kills/set) on the season for a .246 hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore OH
Johnny Anselmo ranks second on the team with 96 kills (1.68 kills/set), while senior middle blocker
Gil Herold (1.56 kills/set) and freshman OH
Scott Montez (2.03 kills/set) have contributed as well. Herold leads the team at the net with 0.58 blocks/set, while Batista totals 0.47 blocks/set. The Golden Eagles have 75 total reception errors on the season. Freshman libero
Jacob Reilly leads the team with a .966 percentage off of 408 receptions, but has given up 14 aces off errors, followed by 11 errors by Anselmo. Wednesday's match marks the first time that these two teams will meet on the court.
SCOUTING THE PEPPERDINE WAVES
The Wildcats and Waves will meet for just the second time ever on Friday, this time on Pepperdine's home court in Malibu. The Waves are ranked No. 7 in the latest AVCA/NVA national collegiate coaches poll and come in with a 12-8 overall record and 4-2 in the MPSF, with their only two conference losses coming against No. 9 Stanford (2-3) and No. 5 Grand Canyon (2-3). All eight of Pepperdine's losses on the season have come against nationally-ranked teams. Ten players on the Waves 22-man roster are taller than 6-foot-5. 6-foot-7 graduate student outside hitter
Jaylen Jasper leads Pepperdine with 376 total kills (5.01 kills/set) for a .396 hitting percentage, while 6-foot-5 senior outside hitter
Akin Akinwumi tallies 1.97 kills/set for an impressive .468 hitting percentage, and 6-foot-6 outside hitter
Joe Deluzio totals 140 kills for 2.12 kills/set. Akinwumi and junior setter
Bryce Dvorak combine for 57 of Pepperdine's 121 aces on the year. Dvorak is the Waves' primary setter, and averages 10.84 assists/set. Four Waves have 30+ blocks on the season, with Akinwumi leading the way with 0.87 blocks/set (65 total blocks), while Jasper, Dvorak and
Andersen Fuller each chip in at the net.
SERIES RECORD VS. PEPPERDINE
All-Time Record: 1-0 Pepperdine
Last Meeting: 3-0 Pepperdine (19-25, 20-25, 15-25) | Jan. 14, 2020 | Amherst, N.Y.
SCOUTING THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS
The Matadors come into Saturday's match tied at No. 12 in the country in the latest AVCA/NVA national poll and boast a 12-5 overall record on the year. CSUN is riding an eight-game win streak, the third longest winning streak in the country behind Daemen (10 wins), Loyola Chicago and Lincoln Memorial (9 wins each). The Matadors are averaging 11.7 kills per set on the year, with 6-foot-8 redshirt junior OH
Kyle Hobus leading the charge with 219 kills (3.71 kills/set) for a .280 hitting percentage. 6-foot-7 junior OH
Griffin Walters is the only other Matador to tally triple-digit kills on the year with 160 total (2.81 kills/set), and he leads the team with 28 aces (0.49 aces/set) . 6-foot-5 redshirt junior middle blocker
Jano Tello ranks third on the team with 90 kills (1.50 kills/set) for a .409 hitting percentage. The Matadors are big at the net, with eight players tallying 10+ blocks this season and Hobus leading the way with 40 total blocks (0.68 blocks/set). Saturday's match marks the first time that Daemen and CSUN will meet.
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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