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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Ondrej Arabasz goes for the kill against USC
Cary Qian
1
Daemen Daemen 0-1,0-0 NEC
3
Winner Southern California USC 1-0,0-0 MPSF
Daemen Daemen
0-1,0-0 NEC
1
Final
3
Southern California USC
1-0,0-0 MPSF
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Daemen Daemen 25 23 20 14 (1)
Southern California USC 19 25 25 25 (3)

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

#7 USC Outlasts Men's Volleyball In Season Opener

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In the 2025 season opener and first game of the Darek Przybyl era, the Daemen University men's volleyball team fell at #7 University of Southern California 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 14-25) on Thursday night. The Wildcats earn a set victory over an AVCA top-10 ranked team for the second straight season, taking the first set 25-19 after hitting .448 in the set and totaling 16 kills. That would be the sole set win for the Wildcats over the #7 Trojans, as USC would close out the game winning the final three sets after leaning on junior outside hitter Dillon Klein and redshirt sophomore Noah Roberts who each tallied double-digit kills in the win.
 
It was the first of three matches the Wildcats will play in California to begin the season. Daemen will take on #18 UC San Diego on Friday night and wrap up their West Coast road trip on Saturday in a rematch against Concordia University Irvine. Both matches against the Tritons and Golden Eagles will be played at 7 PM (PST).

PHOTO GALLERY
 

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Graduate student outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively with 17 kills on 35 attacks for a .286 hitting percentage. Daemen's all-time kill leader, Schneider added eight digs, two block assists, two aces and two blocks for a team-high 20 points.
  • Redshirt junior outside hitter Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) totaled eight kills on 21 attacks along with five digs and two aces on the night.
  • Making his collegiate debut, redshirt freshman middle blocker Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) finished with five kills while adding one block assist and one dig in his first career start.
  • 2024 NEC Rookie of the Year Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) totaled five kills with just one error on 13 attacks for a team-high .308 hitting percentage. The sophomore middle blocker posted two block assists and three digs on the night.
  • Stepping in as the starting setter this season, sophomore Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 35 assists, four digs, three block assists, two kills and one ace. 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • After trading points to open the first, the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run off four Daemen kills to take a 14-9 advantage over the Trojans. Daemen never trailed for the rest of the set and capped off the first set with a Schneider kill to earn the 25-19 win. The Wildcats hit .448 in the first set and totaled 16 kills, seven of those coming from Schneider.
  • The Cats kept the pedal to the metal and opened the second on a 9-5 run, but from there, the Trojans scored six of the next eight points to tie it up at 11. The Wildcats and Trojans traded points throughout the rest of the set, but USC didn't take the lead until 18-17. The Trojans would close out the second set winning six of the final 10 points to take the second, 25-23 and tie the match up at one a piece. Daemen finished with 12 kills on 24 attacks to hit .333 in the set. Wieberg, Mullen and Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) each totaled three second set kills.
  • Trading points from the start of the third set to a tied game at 9 all, USC would put together a 7-1 run off six Daemen attack errors to take a 16-10 lead over the Cats. The Wildcats battled in the middle of the set and brought the game within three, 22-19, but the Trojans took the third set 25-20 after holding the Cats to just nine kills on 20 attacks in the third.
  • USC opened the fourth set on an 11-5 run and remained in the lead for the rest of the set. The Trojans won the fourth in their biggest point margin of the game, finishing 25-14 after holding Daemen to just six kills in the final set.
GAME NOTES
  • This marked the second straight season that the Wildcats opened a season against a top-10 team. The Wildcats lost 3-1 to #5 Ohio State in the 2024 season opener.
  • Over the past six seasons, the Wildcats are 2-7 all-time against opponents ranked in the AVCA Top-25. Daemen's two wins over ranked teams were against #12 CSUN in 2023 and #12 UC Santa Barbara in 2024.
  • The reigning Northeast Conference Tournament champions, Daemen was selected second in the 2025 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Wednesday.
  • After hitting .448 in the first and .280 in the second, Daemen finished with a .168 hitting percentage in the match, totaling 43 kills and 25 errors  on 107 attacks.
  • The ninth ranked blocking team in Division I men's volleyball in 2024, USC out-blocked Daemen 13 to 6 on the day. The Trojans had 24 block assists compared to just 10 for the Cats.  
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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