AMHERST, N.Y. -- After a spectacular 2023 season, the postseason accolades continue for Daemen University men's volleyball player
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.)! The senior outside hitter was named one of three finalists for Off The Block's 2023 Division II National Player of the Year. Schneider was named a finalist alongside Uriel Batista of Concordia and Ras Jesse Delancy of Benedict. Off The Block is a website solely dedicated to the coverage of collegiate men's volleyball, and presents 11 NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball awards annually.
Off The Block selected the players through a nationwide voting committee of more than 35 NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball coaches and volleyball media to determine the finalists and winners. The top three vote-getters for each award were named finalists, and the individual receiving the most votes will be named the award winner. The Division II National Player of the Year is given to the nation's best player on an NCAA Division II men's volleyball team during the regular season.
Schneider, named the Northeast Conference's inaugural Player of the Year, became the first player in Daemen program history to earn honorable mention All-America by the American Volleyball Coaches Association this season after a spectacular senior year. He helped lead the Wildcats to a successful 2023 season where they finished second in the NEC regular season and posted the most single-season wins in program history (17). Earning First Team All-NEC in his senior season, Schneider finished with team-highs and single-season program records for kills with 318 (3.83 kills/set) and digs with 156 (1.88 digs/set), as well as breaking the single-game kill record for both three-set matches and five-set matches.
He led the Wildcats offensively in 17 matches on the year, and posted double-digit kills in 18 of Daemen's 24 matches. Schneider was named First Point/NEC Player of the Week for a record five times this season, and was also named a First Point/NEC Prime Performer five times. On the year, Schneider finished third in the NEC in kills (3.83 kills/set) and points (4.46 points/set), fourth in hitting percentage (.361), fifth in digs (1.88 digs/set) and sixth in service aces (0.30 aces/set). As a team, the Wildcats finished atop the league in points (15.75 points/set), hitting percentage (.289), kills (12.18 per set), assists (11.13 per set), aces (1.58 per set), and opponent hitting percentage (.222), while ranking second in blocks (1.99 per set), opponent digs (8.26 per set), opponent aces (1.14 per set) and opponent assists (9.98 per set) and third in opponent kills (10.96 per set) and opponent blocks (1.78 per set).
The Wildcats finished the 2023 season with a 17-7 overall record and an 11-3 record in the inaugural NEC season. Daemen posted the first ever win over an AVCA nationally-ranked team in program history, topping #12 Cal State Northridge on March 18 while on the West Coast road trip in California over spring break. Daemen entered the first ever NEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but fell to eventual tournament champions Long Island University in the semifinals.
Schneider is the first Daemen men's volleyball player to be named a finalist for an Off The Block major award.
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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