Geoff Schneider

NEC Matches At Sacred Heart, Merrimack On Tap For Men's Volleyball

2/15/2024 12:41:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Daemen University men's volleyball team resumes Northeast Conference play this weekend with their first road doubleheader of the season, traveling to Fairfield, CT to take on Sacred Heart on Friday night then traversing to North Andover, Mass. on Saturday for a nightcap at Merrimack. The Wildcats come into this weekend with a 6-2 overall record and a 1-0 record in NEC competition.

LAST WEEK
Daemen opened up Northast Conference play with a 3-0 victory against D'Youville last Thursday night and wrapped up the week with another 3-0 sweep over St. Thomas Aquinas to move to 6-2 on the year and 1-0 in NEC play. Fifth-year senior Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats with 19 kills and just five errors for a .438 hitting percentage. The 19 kills ties the program record for most kills in a three set match that he set last year during a loss to Long Island University in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament. Junior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) added eight kills with just one error for a .467 hitting percentage. He also posted five digs. Senior opposite Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) chipped in six kills and four aces, while junior Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) finished with five kills. Freshman middle Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) posted a team-high five blocks, while fifth-year senior Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) handed out 34 assists and also posted six digs. In Friday night's win, the Wildcats finished the match hitting .413 on the night after tallying 40 kills with just nine errors. Schneider hit 14 kills with just one error on 17 attacks, connecting for a season-high .765 hitting percentage while adding three aces, two digs, one assisted block and one assist. Milligan was the only other player to tally double-digit kills tonight, posting 12 kills with just one error on 27 attacks to hit at a .407 clip. The senior opposite led all players with 18 points after totaling four aces, five digs, three assists, two block assists and a solo block in the win. Califf posted his second double-double of the season with 31 assists and 11 digs. Califf added one kill, three aces and one assisted block.

WEEKLY HONORS
For their performances on the court, Califf, Milligan and Schneider picked up First Point/NEC Prime Performer honors. Califf totaled 17 digs (2.83 digs/set), 65 assists (10.8 assists/set), one block, three aces and one kill over two matches. Milligan earned his second Prime Performer nod of the season, totaling 18 kills (3 kills/set), eight aces, seven digs, give blocks and three assists, while Schneider finished with 33 kills (5.5 kills/set) for a .602 hitting percentage, three aces, three digs, three blocks and two assists on the week.

ZACH ATTACK
As the reigning NEC Player of the Year, Schneider has his name all over the Daemen record books. The fifth year outside hitter broke his own record for single season kills (318) and digs (156) in 2023, and sits atop the Daemen career record book in total kills (924), digs (406), attack attempts (1918), and aces (108). Schneider leads the Wildcats offensively with 70 kills (3.18 kills/set) and is tied with Milligan for a team-high 11 aces.

POLL POSITION
After going 2-0 last week, the Wildcats moved up to third in the latest Off The Block Division II Coaches Poll for the seventh week of the 2024 season. Off The Block is a website solely dedicated to the coverage of collegiate men's volleyball, and conducts a Division II national poll released every Tuesday. Daemen has been included in 32 straight OTB polls.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will return to Lumsden Gymnasium for a pair of home NEC games against Fairleigh Dickinson and Long Island University next weekend (Feb. 23-24).

THE PIONEERS
Picked fourth in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, Sacred Heart finished with a 12-13 season in 2023 and posted a 7-7 record in the inaugural NEC season, finishing fourth in the conference to advance to the first NEC Tournament where they topped #5 St. Francis Brooklyn 3-0 in the quarterfinals but fell to NEC regular season champs Saint Francis in the semifinals. The Pioneers come into their NEC opener against the Wildcats with a 5-6 overall record. After starting the season losing six straight matches, SHU is riding a five-game win streak and are coming off a big 3-2 win over #10 ranked Princeton last Saturday. Sacred Heart averages 12.2 kills per set this season 6-foot-5 opposite Patrick Mucherino returns for his senior season after earning Second Team All-NEC last season, and leads the Pioneers with 140 kills (3.59 kills/set) and 51 digs (1.31 digs/set) and ranks second on the team with 27 blocks. 6-foot-5 senior outside hitter Carlos Santa Cruz ranks second on the team with 2.61 kills/set (94 total) and a team-high 16 aces. 6-foot-2 senior setter Teddy Payne runs the Pioneer offense with 278 assists (9.59 assists/set).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 2-1 record over the Pioneers, and topped SHU 3-2, 3-1 in the two NEC matches they played last season.

THE WARRIORS
Playing in their inaugural season in 2023, Merrimack posted a 10-16 overall record and went 4-10 in NEC play, finishing sixth in the conference to advance to the first ever NEC Tournament where they fell 1-3 to eventual champions LIU in the quarterfinals. Merrimack put together a tough 2024 schedule, playing four nationally-ranked teams in their first five matches of the season and come into this weekend with a 2-6 record. 6-foot-4 sophomore outside Logan Whitaker leads the Warriors with 72 kills on the year (3.0 kills/set) and ranks third on the team with 11 blocks. Freshman outside hitters Isaiah and Kai Vogel combine for 77 kills, with Isaiah starting in all eight matches and totaling 44 kills, 35 digs and a team-high seven aces, while Kai has played in six matches and has 33 kills, 15 digs and seven blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 2-0 all-time against Merrimack, beating the Warriors 3-2 in the first meeting last season but sweeping them 3-0 at home.

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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