Jariel Giraud awaits a serve against Dominican

Men's Volleyball Welcomes Roberts Wesleyan On Wednesday Night

2/4/2025 1:04:00 PM

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

BACK AT IT
The Daemen University men's volleyball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium on Wednesday, Feb. 5 as they welcome Roberts Wesleyan University for a non-conference home match at 6:30 PM. The Wildcats come into the match up with a 2-2 overall record while the Redhawks sit at 4-4 on the year.

LAST GAME OUT
The Wildcats picked up a home opener sweep over Dominican University New York on Friday, Jan. 24 in their last game to win their second straight match of the season. Seven different Wildcats combined for 40 kills against the Chargers and finished with a .284 hitting percentage on the night. Graduate student Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) led all players with 17 kills and hit at a .433 clip in the win. Daemen's leading offensive weapon in all four games this season, Schneider tallied double-digit kills for the third game with 17 kills on 30 attacks and just four errors for a .433 hitting percentage while adding one ace, one block assist and three digs. Sophomore middle blocker Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) finished with six kills and two errors on nine attacks for a .444 hitting percentage along with one assist and one ace. Redshirt freshman right side Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) totaled six kills and added three digs and two aces. Senior outside hitter Jack Rooney (Lakeview, N.Y.) posted four kills with no errors on seven attacks for a .571 hitting percentage while adding one assist and two digs. Sophomore setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 30 assists, six digs, two solo blocks and a kill. Junior libero Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) finished with 10 digs on the night.

HATS OFF TO #13!
Wednesday's match will be the 100th career match for graduate student Zach Schneider. The outside hitter becomes just the second player in Daemen history to total 100 career matches behind just now assistant coach Michael Krueger who totaled 102 matches over his six year Daemen career. In the Wildcats' 3-1 win over Concordia on Jan. 11, Schneider passed Krueger (338) for most career sets played. Daemen's all-time kill leader, kills/set leader, attack leader, service ace leader, aces/set leader, dig leader, points leader, points/set leader and solo blocks leader, Schneider has been a pivotal part of all the Wildcats' success since he joined the team in 2020.

NGWSD
Wednesday marks the 39th iteration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and at the match the Wildcats will be celebrating all of the female athletes on Daemen's campus. In between sets, Daemen's Wildcat women will be introduced and there will be trivia about women in sports. According to the Women's Sports Foundation,"National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a vibrant movement we celebrate annually, NGWSD honors the achievements of girls and women in sports and continues to Lead Her Forward by acknowledging the power of sports to unlock her limitless potential."

PRESEASON POLL
Daemen was selected second in the 2025 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Wednesday. Saint Francis University, winners of the past two NEC regular season titles, was picked first in the preseason poll and garnered three first-place votes. The NEC Tournament-winning Wildcats earned one first place vote and are tied with Fairleigh Dickinson University for second in the conference. FDU also earned one first place vote. Long Island University is fourth in the conference, and D'Youville University is the fifth and final team in the NEC Preseason Poll.

NEC CHAMPIONS
In their second year playing in the NEC the Wildcats finished second in the regular season but finished the season on a high, earning the program's first NEC Tournament Championship title after beating Fairleigh Dickinson University, 3-0, in the semifinals and taking down top-seeded Saint Francis University, 3-1, in the conference championship game. The Wildcats compiled a program record 20 wins last season, finishing the 2024 campaign with a 20-6 overall record and a 9-3 record in NEC play.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will make the short jaunt down to Buffalo, NY to play at D'Youville University on Saturday (Feb. 8) in a neutral site game against Rockhurst University at 12 PM.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
In their inaugural season in 2024, Roberts Wesleyan went 8-16 overall and 3-3 in the first East Coast Conference season where they fell in the ECC semifinals to Dominican. The Redhawks come into Wednesday's game with a 4-4 record and are riding a two game win streak after picking up wins over Division III opponents Geneva College and Houghton University. On the year, Roberts is out-hitting opponents 11.3 to 10.1 and are led offensively by 6-foot-3 sophomore opposite Griffin Monrad with 74 kills (2.96/set) and 6-foot-3 sophomore middle Paul Fillion with 66 kills (2.54/set).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats won both matches played against the Redhawks last season

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.
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