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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
MVB_Celebrate_2023
Geoff Schneider
0
LIU LIU 8-8,3-1 NEC
3
Winner Daemen Daemen 11-1,6-0 NEC
LIU LIU
8-8,3-1 NEC
0
Final
3
Daemen Daemen
11-1,6-0 NEC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
LIU LIU 23 22 21 (0)
Daemen Daemen 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

Wildcats Extend Winning Streak To 10 Following Sweep Of Sharks

Daemen Ties The Program Record For Consecutive Wins During One Season

AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and junior outside hitter Cameron Milligan (Pavillion, N.Y.) both totaled 11 kills to lead Daemen University to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) victory over Long Island University this evening in Northeast Conference men's volleyball action at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

The teams entered the match as the last two teams in the league without a conference loss. Daemen ran its winning streak to 10 straight matches and improved to 11-1 overall and 6-0 in the NEC. Daemen entered the game ranked sixth in the latest Off The Block Division II national poll. LIU dropped to 8-8 overall and 3-1 in the league. LIU was picked third in the preseason NEC poll, while Daemen was picked fourth.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Schneider posted 11 kills on 23 attempts and posted a .348 hitting percentage. He also added a team-high four service aces and a team-high nine digs.
  • Milligan finished with 11 kills off a team-high 25 attempts and a .280 hitting percentage.
  • Senior transfer setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) finished with 31 assists and seven digs
  • Freshman Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) chipped in eight kills, four blocks and eight digs.
  • Senior Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.) registered seven kills, while graduate student Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) produced four kills and a team-high six blocks.
  • Senior Livan Moreno paced the Sharks with eight kills, six digs and three blocks.
GAME NOTES
  • 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.
  • Daemen tied a program record for most consecutive wins (10) within a season originally set when then Wildcats went unbeaten (10-0) during the COVID-19 shortened 2021 season. The Wildcats entered the match tied with Penn State University for the second longest winning streak nationally among Division I/II teams.
  • Daemen remained perfect at home this season (6-0) and has now won 15-straight matches at home dating back to last season. The 15-match home winning streak is the third longest in the country behind Hawaii (28) and Lincoln Memorial (23).
  • Daemen jumped out to a 7-2 lead in set one and the hosts later took a 15-8 lead following a LIU error. The Daemen lead was 18-10 when the Sharks rallied and eventually tied the set at 21-21. LIU held a 23-22 lead when the Wildcats got a kill by Zelasko and back-to-back service aces by Schneider to close out the set.
  • The teams traded points early in set two and LIU held a 10-9 lead when the Sharks score five unanswered points to take a 15-9 lead.  The LIU lead was 17-11 when the Wildcats rallied with an 11-2 run that gave the hosts a 22-19 lead. Daemen was up 24-20 when the Sharks scored back-to-back points, but Schneider closed out the set with a kill.
  • Neither team led by more than three points in set three until the final score. Daemen went up 22-20 following an ace by Schneider and a kill by Zelasko, and later got to match point (24-21) following a service ace by Zelasko. The Wildcats closed out the match following an error by LIU.
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.
 

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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