Men's Volleyball | 1/19/2024 8:30:00 AM

Match #2: Daemen Wildcats vs. American International Yellowjackets | Saturday, Jan. 20 | 11 AM | Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stream & Stats: NEC Front Row | Live Stats
AIC Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats

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HOME, SWEET HOME
The Daemen University men's volleyball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium on Saturday morning with their 2024 home opener against American International at 11 AM. This will be the Wildcats' second game of the season, as last weekend's road match against Roberts Wesleyan and this week's home matches against Dominican (NY) and Harvard were all postponed due to inclement weather. 

A LOOK BACK
The Wildcats come into this week with a 0-1 record after dropping their season opener to #5 Ohio State, 3-1, last weekend. Daemen got off to a quick start, cruising to a 25-14 first-set victory over the Buckeyes after totaling 11 kills for a .444 hitting percentage in the first while holding OSU to just six kills. It marked the first time in program history that Daemen won a set over a top-five ranked team (the Wildcats had previously been swept 3-0 in matches against #4 Penn State in 2023 and #2 UCLA in 2020). The Wildcats dropped the second set, 25-19, but came out firing on all cylinders in the third and kept the set close, with the Wildcats and Buckeyes going on separate runs throughout the set. The third went into extras but Ohio State came out on top, 26-24. The Buckeyes won their third straight set 25-18 in the fourth after out-hitting Daemen 14-8 while holding the Wildcats to a 0.15 hitting percentage in the set to take the match. 

CAM THE MAN
Senior opposite Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) led Daemen with 12 kills on 34 attacks against the Buckeyes for a .206 hitting percentage, adding six assisted blocks, three digs, one solo block and one ace for a team-high 17 points. Milligan also led the way in Daemen's exhibition match against Brock, finishing with nine kills and zero errors on 14 attacks for a .643 hitting percentage. He's coming off a successful junior campaign where he garnered Second Team All-NEC honors after starting in 23 of Daemen's 24 matches and finishing second on the team with 238 kills for a .234 hitting percentage, as well as ranking second on the team and sixth in the conference with 26 service aces.

PRESEASON POLL 
The Wildcats, who posted tremendous 2023 season where they finished 17-7 overall and 11-3 in the inaugural Northeast Conference season, were picked second in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, behind only Long Island University, who won the first ever NEC Men's Volleyball Tournament last season as the No. 3 seed. Daemen finished second in the 2023 regular season and dropped just three conference matches all season, falling only to NEC regular season champion Saint Francis University twice and dropping a late season match at Fairleigh Dickinson University. In 2023, Daemen set a program record for wins in a single season and picked up big wins against Princeton and Harvard early in the season and beat #12 CSUN 3-2 on their California road trip, marking the first time in program history that the Wildcats beat a nationally-ranked team.

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THE YELLOWJACKETS
Playing in their third season, Springfield has opened the 2024 season with a victory for the first time, topping Regis 3-2 in their season opener on Jan. 11. The Yellowjackets return 12 players from last season's team that finished with a 2-22 record, including outside hitter John Rivera Ortiz who led the team with 175 kills (3.07 kills/set) and sophomore outside hitter Robert Santana who totaled 152 kills (2.11 kills/set) and a team-high 106 digs (1.47 digs/set) in 2023. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats have played AIC twice in each season of AIC's existence. Daemen is 4-0 in the series history. 

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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.