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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
MVB_Zach Schneider attack 2023
Geoff Schneider
1
Sacred Heart SH 8-12,4-7 NEC
3
Winner Daemen Daemen 16-4,10-1 NEC
Sacred Heart SH
8-12,4-7 NEC
1
Final
3
Daemen Daemen
16-4,10-1 NEC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Sacred Heart SH 18 26 12 22 (1)
Daemen Daemen 25 24 25 25 (3)

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

Three Wildcats Tally Double-Digit Kills In 3-1 Win Over Sacred Heart

AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's volleyball team earned their 10th Northeast Conference victory of the season with a 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-12, 25-22) win over Sacred Heart University on Friday night. Daemen moves to 16-4 on the season and 10-1 in NEC play, while dropping the Pioneers to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in conference matches. 
 
The league's top three hitting percentage leaders squared off on the court, with NEC-leading Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) and Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) facing the No. 3 player in the conference in Sacred Heart's Ife Loverton tonight. The Cats finished with three players totaling double-digit kills, with Schneider leading all players on the court with 20 kills for an impressive .643 hitting percentage. Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) finished with 17 kills, while Moffitt totaled 11 in the victory. 

Daemen earned their third-highest hitting percentage in a match this season, hitting at a .414 clip while knocking down 58 kills on 111 attacks. The Wildcats held the Pioneers to 46 kills for a .198 hitting percentage, marking the 15th match this season Daemen held their opponents to 50 or fewer kills in a match. 

The Wildcats will play in their final home match of the regular season on Saturday at 4 PM when they play host to Merrimack. Daemen is recognizing four seniors ahead of the match in Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.), Matthew Garry (Lancaster, N.Y.), Henry Moffitt and Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.). Senior Day introductions begin at 3:45 PM.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Zach Schneider finished with 20 kills (5 kills/set) and just two errors on 28 attacks for a .643 hitting percentage, and added three digs for a match-high 20 points. The senior outside hitter totaled double-digit kills for the 15th match this season, and 10th match in a row. Schneider was just one kill away from tying the program record (his own record) of 21 kills in a four-set match. 
  • Junior opposite Cameron Milligan tallied 17 kills (4.25 kills/set) on 36 attacks for a .278 hitting percentage, while totaling four digs, one block and one assisted block in the win. Last weekend's big hitter in Daemen's 3-2 wins over LIU and St. Francis Brooklyn, Milligan has earned double-figure points in the last four matches this year. 
  •  Playing in his second-to-last home game of the regular season, graduate student Henry Moffitt finished with 11 kills and just one error for an impressive .643 hitting percentage. Daemen's top blocker totaled five assisted blocks and added four digs and an ace on the day. 
  • Senior setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) totaled 44 assists (11 assists/set) and added seven digs, while leading all Daemen players with six blocks, four assisted and two solo, in the win. 
GAME NOTES
  • Today's match marked just the third time in program history that the Wildcats and Pioneers have met, and the second time in NEC play this season. Daemen won the first matchup of the season, 3-2, in a five-set thriller on Feb. 19 in Fairfield, CT.
  • Daemen clinched a berth in the inaugural NEC Championship Tournament last weekend after taking down Long Island University 3-2 on Friday night. The Wildcats moved to sole possession of first place in the conference after topping the Sharks. 
  • The Wildcats earned the first point of the match after Moffitt knocked down a massive kill. Daemen would open up the match on a 10-6 run, but the Pioneers stayed in it, putting together a 3-0 run from there to make it a one point game. From there, Daemen went on a 7-2 run to take a considerable lead, and held onto it throughout the rest of the set.
  • The Wildcats won the first 25-18, totaling 18 kills for a .500 hitting percentage in the first set. Moffitt led all players with 5 first-set kills, and added a team-high 3 digs in the first.
  • Sacred Heart opened the second set on a 4-0 run after three consecutive kills and a Daemen attack error. The Pioneers led for the majority of the second, but the Wildcats stayed right on their heels. After a late run, Daemen tied it up at 18, and continued to trade points with the Pioneers.
  • SHU sent the second set into extras with a service error on set point, but won the next two points to win the second, 26-24, to tie the match up at one a piece.
  • Schneider recorded six of Daemen's 10 second-set kills.
  • After dropping the second set, the Wildcats came out hot to start the third. Daemen took a 10-4 lead early, and held the Pioneers to single-digits for the majority of the third set, leading by as much as 14 points in the game.
  • Daemen took the third set 25-12 after tallying 15 kills and zero attack errors for a .577 hitting percentage. Schneider totaled seven kills and Califf tallied three digs, two solo blocks and three assisted blocks in the third.
  • After the Pioneers went on a 3-1 run to open the fourth set, Daemen controlled the rest of the set, knocking down 10 kills for their first 15 points to take as much as a seven point lead (17-10). SHU kept things interesting, going on a 10-3 run late in the set to make it a two-point game, 24-22, but after a crazy rally, Milligan ended it, 25-22, to take the match.
  • Daemen stood tall at the net, finishing with 17 total blocks compared to just six from SHU. The Wildcats also out-dug Sacred Heart 33-20, with Califf and senior libero Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) combining for 15 digs on the day. Parker finished with eight digs and three assists.
  • The Wildcats remained ranked fifth in the latest Off The Block poll after a huge pair of NEC victories, topping Long Island and St. Francis Brooklyn 3-2 in back-to-back five set wins.
  • 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 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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