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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Zach Schneider serves in the match at UC San Diego
3
Winner Daemen Daemen 1-2,0-0 NEC
1
CUI CUI 2-1,0-0 MPSF
Winner
Daemen Daemen
1-2,0-0 NEC
3
Final
1
CUI CUI
2-1,0-0 MPSF
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Daemen Daemen 25 25 16 27 (3)
CUI CUI 15 23 25 25 (1)

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

Men's Volleyball Notches First Win of Przybyl Era In 3-1 Takedown Of CUI

IRVINE, CA – Playing in their final match of the California road trip, the Daemen University men's volleyball team notched their first win of the season and the first win as a head coach for Darek Przybyl in a 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 16-25, 27-25) decision against Concordia University Irvine on Saturday night. The Wildcats move to 1-2 on the year while handing the Golden Eagles their first loss of the season to move to a 2-1 record.
 
After struggling offensively against #18 UC San Diego on Friday night, the Wildcats hit well against the Golden Eagles on Saturday, starting off strong with a .500 hitting percentage in the first set and finished with a .288 clip while out-hitting CUI 49 to 43 on the night. Daemen also out-blocked CUI 11.5 to 9 tonight, finishing with 17 block assists and three solo blocks for the Cats at the net. 
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Graduate student outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) finished with 13 kills and five errors on 30 attacks for a .267 hitting percentage on the night, adding three assists, two aces, four block assists and five digs on the day.
  • Freshman middle blocker Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) finished with double-digit kills for the first time in his young collegiate career, totaling a career-high 13 kills on 28 attacks with five errors for a .286 hitting percentage. Mulled added four block assists, one ace and two digs.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) finished with nine kills with no errors on 13 attacks for a .692 hitting percentage, adding three aces and four block assists.
  • Two kills shy of a double-double, redshirt junior outside hitter Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) totaled eight kills, 10 digs and one block assist on the night.
  • Senior middle blocker Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) totaled five kills and five total blocks, posting two solo blocks and three block assists, along with two assists and one ace.
  • Sophomore setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 40 assists, eight digs, one ace, one kill, one solo block and one block assist.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Daemen took a commanding lead early in the first, jumping out to an 8-2 advantage and staying on top for the rest of the set. Leading by as much as 10 in the first, the Wildcats cruised to a 25-15 first-set victory over CUI, marking the first set win for Daemen over Concordia in the history of the match up (2023, 2025). Six Daemen players combined for 13 kills and just three errors as the Cats hit .500 in the first.
  • The Wildcats and Golden Eagles traded points throughout the second set until Daemen won five straight to take a 17-11 lead that they maintained until leading 22-16. Following a CUI timeout, the Golden Eagles won the next six points to tie the game up at 22. The Wildcats won three of the next four points to win the set, 25-23.
  • The third set belonged to CUI who took a lead after being tied up at four, going on a 10-2 run in the middle of the set, and won the third 25-16.
  • Daemen and CUI battled throughout the fourth set until the Golden Eagles went on a 7-1 run to take an 18-13 lead over the Cats late. With Concordia up 21-17, the Wildcats scored six of the next eight points off kills from Schneider and Mullen and a big ace from Arabasz to tie the match up at 23. A kill from O'Neill on CUI's set point continued the game, and after being knotted up at 25, Wieberg and Arabasz came down with kills to end the set, 27-25, and take the match, 3-1.
GAME NOTES
  • The Wildcats are now 1-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles. In the first matchup between the two teams in March 2023, Concordia swept Daemen 3-0.
  • With tonight's win, Daemen is now 2-4 in matches played in California. Both Wildcat wins on the two separate California road trips came in the third match of the trip, as Daemen earned the program's first win over a ranked team (vs. #12 CSUN in March 2023) in their final West Coast match of the 2023 trip, and tonight's 3-1 win over Concordia following losses at #7 USC and #18 UC San Diego.
  • The reigning Northeast Conference Tournament champions, Daemen was selected second in the 2025 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Western New York and welcome Dominican to Lumsden Gymnasium for Daemen's home opener on Friday, Jan. 24 in a 7 PM match up.
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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