Billy Wieberg serves a ball against Central State

Geoff Schneider

Nationally Ranked Opponents Up Next For Men's Volleyball

3/19/2025 1:34:00 PM

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

BACK ON THE ROAD
The Daemen University men's volleyball team remains on the road for three games this weekend against AVCA nationally-ranked teams. The Wildcats open up the weekend with a match at George Mason, who is receiving votes in the AVCA top-20 poll, on Thursday at 6 PM in Fairfax, VA. Daemen will then face their highest ranked opponent of the season in #5 UC Irvine on Friday at 6 PM in a neutral site match at GMU. The Wildcats will head north to Princeton, NJ to play at #19 Princeton on Saturday at 1 PM to wrap up the weekend. Daemen comes in with a 9-4 record while GMU is 11-6 on the year, UC Irvine is 12-4 this season and Princeton is 6-9 overall.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats were idle last weekend, but two weeks ago went 1-1 in road matches in Massachusetts on March 7-8. Daemen picked up a 3-0 sweep over AIC in their second meeting with the Yellowjackets this season to win their fifth straight match. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Johnaustin Bly (Lancaster, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively with 11 kills as the Wildcats out-killed the Yellowjackets 36 to 25 and hit .333 while holding AIC to a .135 hitting percentage on the night. Five different Wildcats accumulated kills in the win, and six different players combined for 26 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jack Rooney (Lakeview, N.Y.) tallied nine kills with just one error to hit at a team-high .444 clip along with two blocks, two digs, one ace and one assist. Redshirt freshman right side Eddie Kwarciak (Grand Island, N.Y.) finished with seven kills and led the Cats with seven digs while adding one block and one ace. Sophomore Bradyn Winters (Coraopolis, Pa.) set the Wildcats to victory with 30 assists along with four digs on the night. The Wildcats faced familiar foe Merrimack, a former Northeast Conference member now competing as an NCAA Division I independent this season, on Saturday, March 8 but fell short, 3-1 to the Warriors to snap their five-game winning streak. Merrimack out-killed the Wildcats 53-41 in the win. The hosts hit .244 while holding Daemen to just a .143 hitting percentage—Daemen's second lowest hitting percentage this season. Redshirt junior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with a career-high 18 kills, five service aces and eight digs. Graduate student Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) added six kills and five digs, while redshirt freshman Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) added six kills and a season-high six blocks. Senior Ethan Sturm (Lisle, Ill.) also recorded six kills and a career-high five blocks. Winters equaled his career-high for assists with 32 and also registered five digs.

NATIONALLY RANKED OPPS
The Wildcats will face their third, fourth and fifth nationally ranked opponents this weekend. George Mason is receiving votes in the AVCA, Princeton is #19 in Division I Collegiate Men's Volleyball, while #5 UC Irvine is the highest ranked opponents the Wildcats have played this season. Since the program's inception in 2019, Daemen is 2-9 all-time against opponents ranked in the top-20 by the AVCA. The Wildcats earned the program's first ever ranked win in 2023 against #12 CSUN in a five-set thriller in California, and earned another ranked victory a season ago against #12 UC Santa Barbara at the Harvard Invitational in five-set match. Over their seven seasons, Daemen has faced off against seven top-10 teams in Division I men's volleyball and is 0-7 all-time. In their 1-3 loss to #5 Ohio State in the 2024 season opener, the Wildcats earned their first set victory over a top-five team, beating the Buckeyes 25-14 to open the match. Daemen earned a first-set victory over #7 USC in the 2025 season opener, but ultimately fell to the Trojans, 1-3.

PRESEASON POLL
Daemen was selected second in the 2025 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. 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 2024 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 open NEC play next weekend on the road in Brooklyn, N.Y. as they get set to take on Long Island University in a doubleheader on Friday (March 28) and Saturday (March 29).

THE PATRIOTS
George Mason is 11-6 overall and 3-1 in EIVA play this season and are just six votes out of being included in the AVCA Top-20, receiving votes in the polls for the past five weeks. The Patriots are averaging 11.5 kills per set this season and are hitting at an average of a .271 clip on the year. GMU has three hitters with triple digit kills this season and are led offensively by 6-foot-4 sophomore outside hitter Robert Evangelista with 3.18 kills/set (143 kills). 6-foot senior outside hitter Gio Collazo ranks second on the team with 113 total kills (2.46 kills/set), and is a familiar face for the Wildcats after spending his first three seasons at fellow NEC team LIU. 6-foot-4 sophomore opposite Jackson Herbert also chips in 2.2 kills/set for the Pats. This will be the first time the Wildcats and Patriots meet.

THE ANTEATERS
The Wildcats will face off against the #5 team in the nation for the second time in two seasons as they play UC Irvine in a neutral site game at George Mason University on Friday. The Anteaters come into the weekend with a 12-4 overall record and an 0-2 record in Big West play after dropping their conference opening weekend against #3 Hawaii in early March. 6-foot-8 senior outside hitter Hilir Henno leads the Anteaters and ranks fifth in NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball with 4.29 kills per set (236 kills total) and also ranks second in the nation with 0.67 aces/set and second with 5.25 points per set. 6-foot-9 senior outside hitter Nolan Flexen ranks second on the team with 3.69 kills/set (203 total) while 6-foot-6 freshman middle blocker Micah Goss leads UC Irvine with 62 total blocks (1.15 blocks/set). This is the first meeting between Daemen and UC Irvine.

THE TIGERS
Daemen and Princeton meet for the third season. The Tigers come in ranked #19 in the nation with a 6-9 overall record but 3-1 record in EIVA play. Averaging 11.3 kills/set this season, Princeton is led offensively by 6-foot-7 senior pin hitter Nyherowo Omene who averages 4.2 kills/set -- good for eighth in the nation (214 total) for a .343 hitting percentage. Omene also leads the Tigers with 18 aces and ranks second on the team with 40 total blocks this season. 6-foot-5 freshman pin hitter Mason Rice is another offensive weapon for the Tigers with 3.11 kills/set (168 total). 6-foot-7 sophomore middle blocker Tristan Whitfield leads the Tigers with 41 total blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against the Tigers. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since Daemen beat Princeton 3-1 at Lumsden Gymnasium in the 2023 season opener.

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.

Print Friendly Version