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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
MVB_Jake Couzens attack at Pepperdine 2023
0
Daemen DAEMEN 11-3
3
Winner Pepperdine PEP 14-8
Daemen DAEMEN
11-3
0
Final
3
Pepperdine PEP
14-8
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Daemen DAEMEN 13 18 17 (0)
Pepperdine PEP 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

Nationally Ranked Waves Upend Wildcats

MALIBU, Calif. – In a tough matchup against an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national collegiate poll top-10 ranked team, the Daemen University men's volleyball team fell to the No. 7 ranked Pepperdine University Waves 3-0 (13-25, 18-25, 17-25) on Friday night. With the loss, Daemen moves to 11-3 on the year, and 5-3 against non-conference opponents this season. After falling 3-0 to Concordia Irvine on Wednesday night, this marked the second consecutive loss for the Wildcats on their California road trip, and the second loss to nationally ranked teams in the 2023 season, as the Wildcats lost to No. 6 Penn State University in January.
 
The Waves outkilled the Wildcats 39 to 26 on the day, with five Pepperdine players totaling five or more kills in the match. Daemen senior outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) tallied his fourth straight match with double-digit kills as he finished with a match-high 12 kills on 25 attacks for a .320 hitting percentage. Pepperdine's Jaylen Jasper led the Waves with 11 kills on the day.  
 
Daemen wraps up their West Coast road trip with their second straight match against a nationally ranked opponent. The Wildcats will face No. 12 California State University Northridge (CSUN) on Saturday at 7 PM Pacific Time (10 PM Eastern).
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Zach Schneider finished with a match-high 12 kills (4.0 kills/set), a team-high four digs and two blocks on the day.
  • Freshman defensive specialist Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) posted five kills on eight attacks with no errors for a season-high .625 hitting percentage. Zelasko added two digs and two blocks to his stat line.  
  • Senior setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) totaled 21 assists (7 assists/set) and three digs.
  • Senior opposite Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with four blocks, and tallied four kills on 11 attacks in the loss.
GAME NOTES
  • Pepperdine is the second opponent that Daemen has faced this season that is ranked in the AVCA top 10. The Wildcats lost 3-0 to No. 6 ranked Penn State University in their second match of the season on Jan. 13.
  • Daemen is 0-2 all-time against the Waves. Pepperdine traveled to Western New York and beat the Wildcats 3-0 early in the 2020 season.
  • The Wildcats are ranked sixth in the latest Off The Block Division II poll.
  • Daemen accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference back in May, marking a significant stride for the program which has competed as an NCAA Division I-II independent since its inception in 2019. With support from the First Point Volleyball Foundation, the NEC announced men's volleyball as the league's 25th championship sport in September of 2021.
  • After tying the first set up at 2-2, Pepperdine went on an 8-2 run that included six Wave kills to take a six-point lead.
  • The Waves went on to take the first set 25-13, out-killing Daemen 14 to 8 in the first. Schneider led the Wildcats with three first-set kills, while Anderson Fuller posted four kills for the Waves in the first set on the other side of the court.
  • Daemen opened the second set with much more fire. The Wildcats traded points with the Waves all the way to 9-9 after posting five kills early in the set. Pepperdine would put together a 6-0 run and hold onto a lead for the rest of the second, taking the set 25-18.
  • The Waves started the third hot, leading as much as 7-1 early on. The Cats would put together a series of little runs but it would not be enough to catch up as Pepperdine finished the match off with a 25-17 third set victory.
UP NEXT
Daemen wraps up their West Coast road trip with their second straight match against a nationally ranked opponent. The Wildcats will face No. 12 California State University Northridge (CSUN) on Saturday at 7 PM Pacific Standard Time (10 PM Eastern Time).
 
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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