Geoff Schneider

Men's Volleyball Returns To Action Thursday Against Long Island University

Wildcats To Play First Match Since Feb. 26

3/8/2023 3:37:00 PM

Match #12
Long Island University Sharks (7-7, 2-0 NEC) vs. Daemen Wildcats (10-1, 5-0 NEC)
Date: Thursday, March 9
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
LIVE VIDEO: via NEC Front Row / LIVE STATS: via Daemen Athletics / TICKETS: vis Daemen Athletics

HOME SWEEP HOME
Daemen hosts Long Island University in a key Northeast Conference match Thursday (March 9). LIU was voted third in the NEC preseason poll, while Daemen was picked fourth. The Wildcats are 5-0 at Lumsden Gymnasium this season and have won 14-straight home matches dating back to last season. Eight of the 14-straight home wins have been by a 3-0 score. Daemen is 17-1 at home since the start of the 2021 season.

STREAKING
Daemen's nine-game winning streak ties the Wildcats with Penn State for the second longest winning streak in country among Division !/II teams. Defending national champion Hawaii has won 24 straight games dating back to last season. Daemen's 14-match home winning streak is the third longest in the country behind Hawaii (28) abd Lincoln Memorial (23). Daemen is one win shy of tying the program record for most consecutive wins in one season. 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.

WILDCATS STAY PERFECT IN NEC PLAY WITH 3-0 WIN OVER ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
The trio of Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.), Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) and Kyle Zelasko (Orchard Park, N.Y.) combined for 30 kills to lead the Daemen University men's volleyball team to its 10th win of the season as the Wildcats took down visiting St. Francis College Brooklyn in straight sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-19) back on Feb. 26. The Wildcats extended their winning streak to nine straight matches, now sitting at 10-1 on the season, including an unblemished 5-0 mark in Northeast Conference play. Daemen's lone setback thus far came at nationally-ranked Penn State in mid January. The Terriers, who were looking for the weekend sweep of their Western New York road trip after topping D'Youville University (3-0) yesterday, dropped to 5-6 overall and 2-1 in NEC play. Schneider led the way for Daemen once again. The senior outside hitter powered down a match-high 11 kills - including the 650th of his career - and added nine digs. Milligan finished with a match-high 15 points which included 10 digs, four service aces and a solo block. Zelasko chipped in nine kills, seven digs and two solo blocks. Setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) dished out 34 of Daemen's 35 assists while totaling four blocks (two solo, two assisted).

SCHNEIDER RACKING UP WEEKLY HONORS
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) has already been named the First Point/NEC Player of the Week three 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 four of a possible seven weeks this year. Junior Cameron Milligan (Pavillion, N.Y.) has also collected the honor, while graduate student Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) was named the First Point/NEC Defensive Player of the Week back on Feb. 7.

FOR THE RECORD
Senior 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.

50 WINS FOR GLEASON
Head coach Don Gleason posted his 50th career win during Daemen's 3-0 at D'Youville on Feb. 10. Gleason has posted a 54-31 record in his five seasons as head coach.

STAT CATS
Through matches played March 7, Daemen ranks atop the NEC in hitting percentage (.299), lowest opponent hitting percentage (.178), kills (11.95 kills per set), service aces (2.15 aces per set), fewest opponent assists (8.68 per set) and fewest opponent service aces (0.90 per set). Daemen also ranks second in the conference in assists per set (10.58) and blocks per set (2.08). Schneider ranks second in the league in points (4.07 points/set), third in both kills (3.34 kills/per set) and hitting percentage (.371), fourth in service aces per set (0.40 aces/set) and eighth in digs (1.57 digs/set). Junior opposite Milligan ranks fifth in the NEC in points (3.67 points/set), first in aces (0.53 aces/set) and seventh in kills (2.86 kills/set). Califf ranks second in the conference in assists (8.97 assists/set) and seventh in digs (1.89 digs/set). Moffitt ranks first in hitting percentage (.500) and sixth in blocks (0.76 blocks/set), while freshman Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) ranks third in the league in service aces per set (0.43).

IMPRESSIVE START
Five of Daemen's 10 wins this season have been perfect 3-0 Wildcat sweeps, including Daemen's first-ever NEC game played at two weeks ago at D'Youville. The Wildcats are averaging 12.0 kills per set compared to just 9.7 for their opponents, and are hitting with a .299 hitting percentage compared to .173 for opponents on the season. Seven Wildcat players have notched 20+ kills on the season. The dynamic duo of Milligan and Schneider account for 220 of Daemen's 478 total kills on the season, and the pair of heavy hitters have also accounted for 33 of Daemen's 86 total aces on the year.

OFF THE BLOCK POLL
The Wildcats remained ranked sixth in the the Off The Block Division II Coaches Poll for week eight of the 2023 season, as released March 1. 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 19 straight OTB polls.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats pack their bags for three games in California next week. Daemen will take on three nationally-ranked programs while in The Golden State. Concordia-Irvine is ranked fourth in the latest Off The Block Division II poll, while Pepperdine and California State Northridge (CSUN) are ranked No. 7 and No. 13 respectively in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Collegiate poll.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS
LIU has played a challenging non-conference schedule thus far, as six of their 12 non-conference opponents are currently ranked in the either the AVCA National Collegiate poll or the Off The Block Division II national poll. The Sharks opened the year winning three of four matches before suffering back-to-back losses to nationally-ranked Long Beach State (3-0) and Loyola-Chicago (3-1). LIU also recently traveled to No. 1 ranked Hawaii, suffering a pair of 3-0 setbacks. The Sharks opened NEC play with wins over FDU (3-0) and NEC preseason favorite Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-2) last month. LIU plays at D'Youville tonight before taking on Daemen tomorrow. On the season, the Sharks are averaging 10.6 kills per set and have posted a .242 hitting percentage. The Sharks lead the NEC in assists per set (10.61) and blocks per set (2.38). 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. Senior transfer Livan Moreno and sophomore Luke Chandler have paced the offense this season. Moreno helped Grand View to a NAIA national championship in 2021 but did not play collegiately last year. He has started all 14 matches this year and leads the team in kills per set (2.74), service aces (16) and digs (57) and ranks third in blocks (25). Chandler ranks second in kills per set (2.59) and service aces (10) and fourth in digs (51). Freshman Andre Aguilar and Holanda both rank among the Top-10 in assists per sets among the NEC leaders. Aguilar is a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week selection. He has started 10 of the 14 matches and is averaging a team-high 7.03 assists per set. Holanda has played in 13 of 14 matches and is averaging 6.77 assists per set. Sophomore Kasey Clouet (1.03 blks/per set) and newcomers Arthur Sueur (0.75 blks per set) and Kale Spencer (0.69 blks per set) all rank among the NEC's Top 10 in blocks per set.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LIU
Series Record: 1-0, Daemen
Record at Lumsden: 1-0, Daemen
Last Meeting: Daemen 3, LIU 0 | Jan. 29, 2022 | Amherst, N.Y.

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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