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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
MVB_Milligan dig at Pepperdine 2023
3
Winner Daemen Daemen 12-3,6-0 NEC
2
CSUN CSUN 12-7,1-1 Big West
Winner
Daemen Daemen
12-3,6-0 NEC
3
Final
2
CSUN CSUN
12-7,1-1 Big West
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Daemen Daemen 25 25 19 22 15 (3)
CSUN CSUN 19 21 25 25 12 (2)

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

Wildcats Notch Program's First Win Over Nationally Ranked Team In 3-2 Thriller Over CSUN

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – For the first time in program history, the Daemen University men's volleyball team pulled off an upset over an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) nationally ranked team, topping No. 12 California State University Northridge 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 15-12) in an absolute classic on Saturday night. The dynamic Daemen duo of Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) combined for 40 of Daemen's 57 total kills on the day. The Wildcats move to 12-3 on the season with the win over the Matadors, while CSUN drops to 12-7.
 
Prior to tonight's victory, the Wildcats were 0-5 all-time against nationally ranked teams. Daemen fell to No. 6 ranked Pennsylvania State University, 3-0, in their second match of the season on Jan. 13 and lost 3-0 to No. 7 ranked Pepperdine on Friday night.
 
After setting a Daemen program record for the most kills in a three-set match with his 17 kills on Wednesday against Concordia Irvine, Daemen senior outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) put on another clinic on Saturday, tallying a match-high 26 kills against the Matadors.
 
The Wildcats round out their California road trip with a 1-2 record after Saturday night's big-time win. Daemen returns to Western New York and the Eastern time zone and will host a pair of Northeast Conference matches this upcoming weekend, first with a 6 PM match against Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night before hosting Saint Francis on Saturday at 4 PM.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Zach Schneider tied a career-high mark with 26 kills (5.2 kills/set) for a .488 hitting percentage and added four digs to his stat line on the day. It marked the fifth consecutive double-digit kill match for Schneider, and the 10th time he has accrued double-digit kills this season.
  • Junior opposite Cameron Milligan finished with 14 kills (2.8 kills/set), including the most important match point kill to hand the Wildcats their first victory on the California road trip. Milligan posted a .257 hitting percentage and tallied two solo blocks and seven digs on the day.
  • Freshman defensive specialist Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) was just one kill away from posting a double-double. The heavy hitting freshman tallied nine kills and hit at a .261 clip in the match, while finishing with a team-high 12 digs, six assists and one assisted block.
  • Senior setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) totaled 45 assists (9.0 assists/set), eight digs, an ace, one solo block and one assisted block.
 
GAME NOTES
  • Tonight's match marked the first time that Daemen and Cal State Northridge have played.
  • CSUN is the third opponent that Daemen has faced this season that is ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (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 and fell to No. 7 ranked Pepperdine 3-0 on Friday night.
  • 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.
  • The Wildcats and Matadors traded points to open up the match, but after tying the match up at four a piece, the Wildcats went on a 7-2 run to take as much as a five-point lead in the match, 14-9. From there, the Matadors would put together a 5-1 run of their own to make it a one-point game.
  • Daemen pulled away late in the set to take a 25-19 victory. Schneider led all players with seven kills. Schneider (7), Henry Moffitt (4) and Milligan (2) were the only Wildcats to record first set kills. Daemen tallied 13 kills for an impressive .476 hitting percentage in the first, while holding the Matadors to just .192. CSUN tallied seven attack errors in the first.
  • Just like the first, Daemen and CSUN traded points early in the second set. The Wildcats went on a little three point run off of back-to-back kills from Schneider and Milligan and an ace by Califf, but the Matadors responded with four points of their own to take a one-point lead.
  • The Wildcats and Matadors stayed close throughout the second set, with the game knotted at 20. The Wildcats would win the next four straight points to sit at set point and would take the second set 25-with Schneider finished it off with his 14th kill of the match.
  • Daemen totaled 14 kills off 37 attacks for a .297 hitting percentage. Schneider had seven second set kills.
  • The Wildcats played from behind for almost the entire third set. After Daemen tied the game up at 18 a piece, CSUN won seven of the last eight points to take the third 25-19 and force a fourth set.
  • The fourth set was just as exciting as the three that came before it! The Cats and Mats traded points throughout the entire set, but a pair of CSUN kills ended the fourth 25-22 and sent the match into a fifth and final set.
  • The Matadors outkilled the Wildcats 16-10 in the fourth set and finished with a .560 hitting percentage compared to .261 for Daemen.
  • The fifth and final set was just as thrilling as the previous four, but Daemen prevailed after putting together a three-point run and a finishing kill by Milligan to close out the match. The Wildcats took the fifth set 15-12 and the match, 3-2. 
  • Daemen totaled nine fifth-set kills and hit at a .333 clip in the final set of the match.
  • Even though the Wildcats were out-blocked 20 to 8 in the match, Daemen managed 57 kills, their second-highest kill total of the year, on 128 attacks for a .297 hitting percentage.
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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