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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Schneider kill
1
Daemen Daemen 13-4,6-1 NEC
3
Winner Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 13-8,5-0 NEC
Daemen Daemen
13-4,6-1 NEC
1
Final
3
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA
13-8,5-0 NEC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Daemen Daemen 20 18 25 24 (1)
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 25 25 22 26 (3)

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

Men's Volleyball Drops First NEC Match In 3-1 Decision At Saint Francis

LORETTO, Pa. – The Daemen University men's volleyball team returned to the court after a weeklong break and dropped their first Northeast Conference match of the season in a 3-1 loss (20-25, 18-25, 25-22, 24-26) at Saint Francis on Friday night. The Wildcats move to 13-4 on the year and 6-1 in NEC play, while the Red Flash improve to 13-8 overall and remain undefeated, 5-0, in NEC matches.
 
This weekend's doubleheaders feature the top two teams in the conference, with both teams coming in as the last undefeated teams in the league. Saint Francis handed Daemen their first NEC loss in the 2023 season and did the same thing on Friday night. The Red Flash out-killed Daemen 47 to 44 on the night and held Daemen to a .210 hitting percentage in the loss, while SFU hit .316 on the night. Fifth year outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) led all players with 22 kills while senior opposite Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) added 12 kills on the day. The Saint Francis duo of Nathan Zini and Andrew Deardorff combined for 31 kills, with Deardorff totaling 16 and Zini finishing with 15.
 
The Wildcats will look for redemption against the Red Flash on Saturday when they wrap up their Loretto, Pa. road trip in a 4 PM match.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Schneider totaled 22 kills on 44 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage while adding six digs, one ace and one assist on the night for a match-high 23 points.
  • Milligan finished with 12 kills on 35 attacks to hit at a .229 clip, adding three assists, three block assists, two digs, and was the only Wildcat to tally a solo block on the night.
  • Sophomore libero Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) posted a career-high 14 digs after starting as the Wildcats' libero for the first two sets then switching to outside hitter for the final two sets where he finished with five kills and two block assists, adding two assists.
  • Fifth year setter Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.) finished with his fourth double-double (assists-digs) of the season, totaling 30 assists and 14 digs while adding a team-high two aces, three block assists and one kill.
GAME NOTES
  • The Wildcats and Red Flash traded points throughout the evenly matched first set and remained tied up at 19 until SFU won two straight points to jump out to a 21-19 lead. Daemen took a timeout and won the next point off a service error, but that would be the final Wildcat point of the night as the Red Flash went on a 4-0 run to take the first set, 25-20. Milligan led the way offensively for the Wildcats with six kills and zero errors on 10 attacks for a .600 hitting percentage, while Schneider added three kills and Arabasz added two.
  • Saint Francis opened the second scoring four unanswered points and extended their lead to 9-4 early. But from there, the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run to bring the set within one, 12-11. Daemen continued scoring points, but SFU would score two to Daemen's one for the majority of the rest of the set, with the Red Flash outscoring the Wildcats 14-8 down the stretch to take the second set 25-18. Schneider totaled eight of Daemen's 11 second-set kills.
  • Like the first set, Daemen and Saint Francis traded points back and forth to open the third. After the Wildcats tied it up at 11, Daemen scored four unanswered points, and held onto a lead until the Red Flash mounted a comeback and tied the game up at 19. The Cats won six of the final nine points to take the third set, 25-22, and force a fourth set. Milligan and Schneider each tallied three kills in the third set, while Zelasko made the move from libero to outside hitter in the set and added two kills. Saint Francis killed themselves on the serve in the third with 10 service errors.
  • The Wildcats and Red Flash played close from the start of the fourth set. Tied up at 14, SFU scored three unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead, but Daemen then went on a 6-2 run to take a 20-19 lead. Saint Francis scored the next three to lead 22-20, and after trading points, Zini sent home a kill to go up match point. Daemen won the next two points to tie the game at 24, but the Red Flash won the final two points to take the fourth set 26-24. Schneider tallied eight of Daemen's 14 fourth-set kills.
  • The Wildcats have never beaten Saint Francis, with the Red Flash owning a 5-0 all-time record over Daemen.
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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