Match #18
Daemen Wildcats (12-4, 7-1 NEC) vs. Long Island University Sharks (13-8, 7-1 NEC)
Date: Friday, March 31
Time: 7 PM
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. | Steinberg Wellness Center
Live Stream: via NEC Front Row
Live Stats: via liuathletics.com

Match #19
Daemen Wildcats (12-4, 7-1 NEC) vs. St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (9-10, 4-4 NEC)
Date: Saturday, April 1
Time: 4 PM
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. | The ARC
Live Stream: via NEC Front Row
Live Stats: via sfcathletics.com

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Daemen University men's volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a pair of road matches against Long Island University and St. Francis Brooklyn. Friday night's matchup against the Sharks of LIU will be a battle of the top two teams in the Northeast Conference, with both LIU and Daemen coming in with 7-1 records through NEC play. The Wildcats will then travel to St. Francis Brooklyn for a 4 PM match on Saturday. 

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats split a pair of Northeast Conference matches over the weekend. Daemen earned their seventh sweep of the season on Friday with a 3-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson University in a match in which Daemen totaled 38 kills and finished with a .478 hitting percentage while holding FDU to hitting at a .087 clip for 22 kills on the day. Senior outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) tallied double-digit kills for the 11th match this season, totaling with a match-high 14 kills. Freshman defensive specialist Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) finished with five aces, serving up multiple aces for the fifth time this season, and added five kills and three digs. On Saturday, the Wildcats lost their first NEC match of the season, falling 2-3 to Saint Francis in a five-set thriller that featured three Wildcats with double-digit digs, and two with double-digit kills, including the match leader Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.), who posted a career-high 25 kills for a .432 hitting percentage against the Red Flash. Schneider finished with his second double-double (kills-digs) of the year with 14 kills and 14 digs. Senior setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) led the Wildcats defensively with 15 digs while posting his fourth double-double (assists-digs) of the season, adding 41 assists on the day. Senior Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) finished with 10 digs. The loss marked Daemen's first conference loss of the year, and it snapped their 16-game home winning streak, which was the second longest active home win streak in NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball. 

WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
For their efforts last week, Milligan and Schneider picked up weekly Northeast Conference honors, each being named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer for the week. Milligan posted a career-high 25-kill match against the Red Flash on Saturday, while Schneider totaled 28 kills on the week, knocking down 14 kills against both FDU and Saint Francis last week. The Wildcats have been included in 10 of a possible 11 weekly awards since the beginning of the season. 

STAT CATS
In matches played through March 30, Daemen ranks atop the NEC in points (15.81 points/set), hitting percentage (.294), assists (10.81 assists/set), lowest opponent hitting percentage (.192), kills (11.95 kills/set), service aces (1.79 per set) and fewest opponent aces (1.21 per set). The Wildcats rank second in the league in opponent assists (9.29 assists/set), opponent kills (10.16 kills/set), blocks (2.07 blocks/set) and opponent digs (8.0 digs/set). Middle hitter Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) leads all NEC hitters with a .424 hitting percentage and ranks eighth in the league in blocks (0.73 blocks/set). Schneider leads the Wildcats with 211 kills and ranks second in the NEC in hitting percentage (.377) and third in kills per set (3.70) on the year, while ranking second in the league in points (4.44 points/set) and ranking second on the team in service aces (20) and digs, tallying 98 on the season to average 1.72 digs/set. Milligan ranks fifth in the NEC for service aces (0.34 aces/set) and eighth in both kills (2.90 kills/set) and points (3.53 points/set). Califf ranks third in the NEC in assists (9.09 assists/set) and sixth in digs (1.95 digs/set), while Zelasko is second in the NEC for service aces (0.39 aces/set). 

IN-CONFERENCE STATS
Through eight NEC matches, the Wildcats have shown out against their conference opponents. Two Wildcats rank in the top-five in hitting percentage (Moffitt is second in the league with a .459 percentage and Schneider in seventh with a .364 percentage). Schneider ranks fourth in kills (3.45 kills/set), Califf leads the league in assists (9.43 assists/set), while Zelasko (0.61 aces/set), Milligan (0.39 aces/set) and Schneider (0.39 aces/set) are three of the top four players in service aces in conference play. 

FOR THE RECORD
There have been a few records broken already in the 2023 season. Zach Schneider broke the program record for most kills in a three-set match with his 17-kill performance over CUI on Wednesday, breaking the 16-kill record set by Robert Patzer (vs. Elmira on Feb. 15, 2022) and himself (vs. Tusculum on April 22, 2022). Kyle Zelasko set the Daemen program record for six aces in a single match against D'Youville on Feb. 23, snapping the five-ace records set by Ryan Parker (vs. Medaille, Feb. 23, 2020), Patzer (vs. AIC, Jan. 21, 2022), Milligan (vs. AIC, Feb. 12, 2022) and Parker again (vs. Nazareth, Feb. 23, 2022). Sean Califf 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. 

OFF THE BLOCK POLL POSITION
After splitting the week against FDU and Saint Francis, Daemen remained ranked fifth in the most recent Off The Block Division II Coaches Poll for week 12 of the 2023 season, as released on Wednesday. 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 21 straight OTB polls. 

NEXT UP
The Wildcats return home for their final home stand of the regular season next weekend when they play host to Sacred Heart and Merrimack.

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SCOUTING THE LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY SHARKS
LIU comes into Friday's matchup with a 13-8 record, and 7-1 record in NEC play. On the season, the Sharks are averaging 11.3 kills per set and have posted a .242 hitting percentage. The Sharks rank right behind Daemen in points, kills, hitting percentage and assists, while leading the league in blocks per set (2.81). LIU announced the addition of men's volleyball in May 2021 and went 13-15 in its inaugural season last year. A total of nine players return from last year, including senior Caden Satterfield who led the team in kills (2.41 per set) and ranked second in digs (100) last year. Sophomore Luca Holanda also returns after averaging a team-high 7.08 assists per set last year. This season, senior transfer Livan Moreno and sophomore Luke Chandler have paced the offense. Moreno helped Grand View to a NAIA national championship in 2021 but did not play collegiately last year. He has started all 21 matches this year and leads the team in kills per set (2.89), service aces (22) and digs (94) and ranks third in blocks (43). Chandler ranks second in kills per set (2.57) and service aces (13) and second in digs (76). Freshman Andre Aguilar and Holanda both rank among the Top-10 in assists per sets among the NEC leaders. Aguilar is averaging a team-high 5.65 assists per set. Holanda has played in 20 of 21 matches and is averaging 7.45 assists per set. Sophomore Kasey Clouet (1.09 blks/per set) and newcomers Arthur Sueur (0.81 blks per set) and Chandler (0.74 blks per set) all rank among the NEC's Top 10 in blocks per set.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LIU
Series Record: 2-0, Daemen
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, LIU 0  | March 9, 2023 | Amherst, N.Y.

SCOUTING THE ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn comes into Saturday's match with a 9-10 overall record, and 4-4 in NEC play. On the season, the Terriers are averaging 11.5 kills per set and have posted a .233 hitting percentage. The Terriers are also averaging of 10.8 assists/set and 1.7 blocks/set. St. Francis Brooklyn was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) last year and posted a 10-15 overall record and a 4-12 league record. A total of 12 players return from last year, including senior outside/libero Nicola Iannelli who collected second team All-EIVA honors last year. Senior Bartek Zielinski and freshman Patrick Rogers have paced the offense thus far. Despite missing the first four games of the year, Rogers has racked up 207 kills (3.91 per set) and at the top of the league in kills per set. The 6-5 Zielinskli ranks seventh in the NEC in kills (3.0 kills/set), has posted 159 kills and ranks second on the team lead in blocks (26). Junior Matt Mongin has posted a team-high 418 assists (8.53 per set), while Iannelli leads the team and ranks second in the league in digs per set (2.27. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
Series Record: 4-1 Daemen
Last Meeting: 3-0 Daemen | Feb. 26, 2023 | Amherst, N.Y.

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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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