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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
MVB team huddle
3
Winner LIU LIU 18-11,10-4 NEC
0
Daemen Daemen 17-7,11-3 NEC
Winner
LIU LIU
18-11,10-4 NEC
3
Final
0
Daemen Daemen
17-7,11-3 NEC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
LIU LIU 25 25 25 (3)
Daemen Daemen 19 21 22 (0)

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

Men's Volleyball's Stellar Season Ends In NEC Semifinals

LORETTO, Pa. – The Daemen University men's volleyball team fell to Long Island University 3-0 (19-25, 21-25, 22-25) in the Northeast Conference semifinals on Thursday afternoon. This marked the final game in a Daemen uniform for opposite Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.), outside hitter Matthew Garry (Depew, N.Y.), libero Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) and middle hitter Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia).  The Wildcats finish the 2023 season with a 17-7 overall record. LIU advances to the NEC Championship match on Saturday with today's victory.
 
Coming off a 3-1 win over Merrimack in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the Sharks posted a 25-19 win in the first set. Despite a late Daemen run in the second, LIU took the second, 25-21 after out-hitting the Wildcats 17-13 in the set. Daemen put up a fight in the third set, crawling back from an early deficit to
 
2023 NEC Player of the Year Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) led all hitters on the night with 19 kills. The senior outside hitter broke Daemen's single-game record for kills in a three-set match tonight, eclipsing the 16 kill mark set by Rob Patzer (vs. Elmira on Feb. 15, 2022) and Schneider (vs. Tusculum on April 22, 2022). Senior setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, N.Y.) also set a record in the loss, becoming Daemen's record holder for assists in a three-set match (39). 
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • First Team All-NEC and NEC Player of the Year Zach Schneider posted 19 kills on 41 attacks for a .244 hitting percentage, while scooping up six digs and tallying one block assist. On the year, Schneider finished with a team-high 318 kills (3.83 kills/set), a team-high 156 digs (1.88 digs/set), 38 blocks and 25 aces. He set a program record for single-season kills in the 2023 season and broke the single-game kill record for both three-set matches and five-set matches this year.
  • Second Team All-NEC middle hitter Henry Moffitt finished his final match for Daemen with 14 kills for a team-high .591 hitting percentage and added an assisted block on the day.
  • First Team All-NEC setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) finished with 39 assists on the night (13 assists/set), setting a Daemen single-season record for assists in a three-set match. Califf added five digs, three block assists and one kill in the match. Califf finished the season as Daemen's single-season assist leader with 779 assists (9.16 assists/set) as well as 153 digs (1.80 digs/set), 39 blocks, 36 kills and 15 aces.
  • Senior opposite Jake Couzens played in his final match for the Wildcats, and posted six kills for a .308 hitting percentage and added a team-high four assisted blocks and two digs on the day.
THANK YOU, SENIORS
  • In his graduate season, Henry Moffitt put together his best year in a Daemen uniform, appearing in all 24 matches (86 sets). He totaled a program-record 64 blocks (0.74 blocks/set) in a single season, along with 165 kills (1.92 kills/set) and a league-leading .448 hitting percentage. As one of the Wildcats' inaugural players, Moffitt wrapped up his five-year Daemen career with 481 kills (1.60 kills/set), 192 total blocks (0.6 blocks/set) and 108 digs (0.36 digs/set) over 301 sets (86 matches). Moffit leaves the Wildcats with the single-season record for blocks and the second-highest single-season hitting percentage.  
  • In his fourth and final season at Daemen, Jake Couzens appeared in all 24 matches (84 sets) and finished the year ranked second on the team with 43 blocks (0.51 blocks/set) and fourth on the team with 118 kills (1.40 kills/set) while hitting at a .324 clip, and added 36 digs and 15 aces. In his four-year career, Couzens appeared in 235 sets in 71 matches and totaled 370 kills (1.57 kills/set) for a .347 hitting percentage, as well as 149 total blocks (0.6 blocks/set), 110 digs and 71 aces. Couzens holds the single-match record for blocks (9 vs. Sacred Heart on Jan. 22, 2022), the single-season record for hitting percentage (.537 in 2021), aces (32 in 2022), and blocks per set (0.86 in 2021), while ranking second-all time in single-season blocks (57 in 2022) after Moffitt broke his record this season.
  • Senior outside hitter Matthew Garry appeared in eight sets over four matches this season. He totaled 10 kills on 29 attacks, and added an ace, seven digs, and two blocks. He posted a season-high four kills and four digs against Fairleigh Dickinson last weekend. Over his four-year Daemen career, Garry played in 43 sets over 19 matches and finished his career with 69 kills (1.60 kills/set), 47 digs, 13 blocks and 12 aces.
  • Playing as a libero for the 2023 season, Ryan Parker appeared in 21 of Daemen's 24 matches (71 sets). He finished with a team-high 413 receptions for a .964 reception percentage, while scooping up 70 digs (0.99 digs/set) and adding eight kills on the year. Over his four-year Daemen career, Parker played in 64 matches for 222 sets and totaled 318 digs (1.43 digs/set), 271 kills (1.22 kills/set), 50 total blocks and 49 aces.
GAME NOTES
  • This marked the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and LIU, and the third matchup of the season. The Wildcats beat the Sharks 3-0 in the first match played this season, and topped them 3-2 in a five-set thriller for first place in the NEC on March 31.
  • Like the last matchup that ended in a five-set thrilling victory for the Wildcats, Daemen and LIU traded points, and runs, throughout the opening set. After Daemen tied up the first at 17 all, the Sharks went on a five-point run to lead 23-17. The Wildcats would score twice more but LIU took set one, 25-19.
  • The Wildcats out-hit the Sharks 16-10 in the first, but committed 10 hitting errors compared to just one for LIU. The Sharks hit at a .429 clip, while Daemen posted a .154 hitting percentage. Moffitt and Couzens led the Wildcats with five first-set kills a piece.
  • The top blocking team in the league, LIU out-blocked Daemen eight to one in the first set.
  • LIU led as much as 13-8 early in the second, but the Wildcats put together a 6-3 run to keep the game within three.
  • Daemen kept the second set close, but could not pull off the come-from-behind second set victory as the Sharks took the set, 25-21. LIU out-hit the Wildcats 17-13, and posted a .412 hitting percentage compared to .321 for the Cats.
  • Schneider led the Wildcat hitters in the second with eight kills. Moffitt posted five.
  • The Sharks started the third just like the previous two sets, on a scoring run to take a 6-2 lead over the Wildcats. Daemen brought the game within one, 10-9, and traded points with the Sharks from there.
  • With LIU up 21-16, the Wildcats went on a 5-1 run to make it a one-point game, 22-21. From there, the Sharks won three of the final four points to take the set, 25-22, and the match.
  • This marked LIU's first win over Daemen. The Sharks advance to the NEC Championship on Saturday with today's victory.
  • The Wildcats end their first season in a conference with a program-record 17 wins.
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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