Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Welcome FDU, LIU To Lumsden This Weekend

2/22/2024 1:51:00 PM

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

HOME, SWEET HOME
The Daemen University men's volleyball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for a pair of Northeast Conference matches this weekend, hosting the FDU Knights in a 6 PM match on Friday night, then taking on the Sharks of LIU on Saturday at noon. The Wildcats come into this weekend with an 8-2 overall record and sit atop the NEC standings with a 3-0 record in conference play. FDU opens up NEC play on Friday against the Wildcats and comes in at 6-4 overall, while the Sharks have faced stiff non-conference competition to open the year and come in at 3-10 overall and 0-2 in NEC matches after dropping a doubleheader against Saint Francis last weekend.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats are 8-2 on the year and 3-0 in NEC play after this weekend's conference victories. Daemen topped Sacred Heart 3-1 on Friday in an exciting back-and-forth match where three Wildcats posted double-digit kills. Fifth year senior Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) led all hitters, totaling 22 of Daemen's 52 kills on the day while senior opposite Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) posted 11 kills for a .444 hitting percentage along with a team-high eight blocks and junior middle Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) added 10 kills with just three errors to hit at a .438 clip. Fifth year setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) totaled 45 assists (11.3 assists/set), seven digs and three block assists. On Saturday, the Wildcats won their fifth straight match with a 3-0 victory over Merrimack. Led by Schneider for the fifth match this season, the fifth year outside hitter totaled 16 kills for a .345 hitting percentage along with six digs. Freshman middle Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) went six for six offensively for a perfect 1.0 hitting percentage, while O'Neill added nine kills on 11 attacks for a .818 clip. Califf ran the Wildcat offense with 32 assists and five digs while Daemen totaled 45 kills on 81 attacks for a .407 hitting percentage.

POLL POSITION
The Wildcats earned the program's first AVCA/NVA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Poll top-20 ranking, coming in tied with UC San Diego at 20th in the nation. Daemen was receiving votes in the national poll after a 3-2 victory over #12 UC Santa Barbara but falling 3-0 to #2 Grand Canyon in the Harvard Invitational over the weekend of Feb. 2-3. The Wildcats also remain ranked third in the latest Off The Block Division II National Coaches Poll, behind only Lewis and Lincoln Memorial.

WEEKLY HONORS
For their efforts on the court last week, fifth years Schneider and Califf picked up NEC Weekly Awards, with Schneider being named the First Point/NEC Player of the Week for the first time this season and Califf earning his second straight Prime Performer honor. Schneider, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, led the Wildcats offensively in both games this weekend with 5.4 kills per set, totaling 38 kills on 74 attacks for a .362 hitting percentage. The fifth year outside hitter posted a season-high 22 kills against the Pioneers on Friday night with just five errors in 45 attacks to hit at a .378 clip and added one ace and three digs. He continued his offensive tear on Saturday with 16 kills on 29 attacks for a .345 hitting percentage and tallied six digs in the victory. Califf totaled 77 assists (11 assists/set), 12 digs, three blocks, four kills and two aces in the Wildcats' 2-0 weekend. He ran the Wildcat offensive to a 52-kill performance with 45 assists and added seven kills and three assisted blocks in the 3-1 win over Sacred Heart on Friday. The fifth year setter totaled 32 assists as the Wildcats posted 45 kills for a .407 hitting percentage in the 3-0 win over Merrimack on Saturday night, adding five digs and two aces along with a season-high four kills on five attacks to hit at a .600 clip.

ZACH ATTACK
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 108 kills (3.72 kills/set) and is second on the team with 12 aces.

DE-FENSE
The Wildcats are ranked fourth in Division I Men's Volleyball for opponent hitting percentage, standing tall defensively by allowing their opponents to hit at a .175 percentage on the year. Through 10 games this season, only four of Daemen's opponents have hit over .200 in the match, #5 Ohio State, #12 UC Santa Barbara, #2 Grand Canyon and Merrimack. Three of Daemen's opponents have hit under .100, with AIC hitting at a season-low -.063. Offensively, the Wildcats are tied with Pepperdine at 10th in the nation for hitting percentage (.315).

UP NEXT
The Wildcats travel across town to play D'Youville next Thursday (Feb. 29), then return to Lumsden on Friday, March 1 to host Harvard.

THE KNIGHTS
FDU comes into their NEC opener with a 6-4 overall record. After dropping their season opener 2-3 to Belmont Abbey, the Knights went on a six game win streak, but then faced a trio of ranked opponents and fell to #10 Pepperdine, #8 Penn State and #17 George Mason. FDU was able to get a set victory over the Nittany Lions on Feb. 10, taking the crazy second set 34-32 but eventually falling 1-3 to PSU. The Knights average 11.6 kills per set with a .262 hitting percentage and are led offensively by 2023 First Team All-NEC opposite Jamal Ellis Carballo. The 6-foot-6 sophomore leads the league with 3.91 kills/set and ranks third nationally with 8.59 attacks per set, and ranks third in the NEC with 0.47 aces per set (15 total). 6-foot-2 junior setter Jose Angarita ranks second in the conference with 9.41 assists per set, while 6-foot-3 senior outside Ethan Young ranks second on the team offensively (2.57 kills/set) and is sixth in the NEC with 1.7 digs/set.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 2-1 record over the Knights, splitting last season's regular season matches.

THE SHARKS
As the reigning NEC Tournament champions, LIU was picked as the top team in the 2024 NEC Coaches Poll. The Sharks come into this weekend's games with a 3-10 overall record and are on a five-match losing streak while having a 0-2 record in conference play after dropping last weekend's doubleheader against Saint Francis, falling 2-3 to the Flash in each match. Stacking their non-conference schedule with five different AVCA Ranked teams, LIU fell to #2 Long Beach, #13 Pepperdine, #13 Loyola Chicago and #8 Penn State but topped #12 Lewis 3-1 this season. 6-foot-5 sophomore opposite Kale Spencer leads the Sharks offensively, totaling 103 kills (2.45 kills/set) and its second on the team with 24 blocks and eight aces. 6-foot-3 2023 First Team All-NEC senior outside hitter Livan Moreno ranks third on the team with 2.0 kills/set, while 6-foot-7 graduate middle blocker Arthur Sueur leads the Sharks at the net with 39 total blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 3-1 against the Sharks, topping LIU in both regular season matches but falling 0-3 to the #3 seed Sharks in the NEC Tournament semifinal match. The Sharks would go on to beat host Saint Francis to win the first ever NEC Tournament title.

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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