PRINCETON, N.J. – The Daemen University men's volleyball team wrapped up a three-match weekend against nationally-ranked teams with a 1-3 (18-25, 28-25, 25-19, 22-25) loss against #19 Princeton University on Saturday afternoon. Daemen drops their fourth straight match and drops to 9-7 overall this season. Facing the Tigers for the third time in program history, today marked the first time Daemen lost to Princeton.
Daemen was narrowly out hit by the Tigers today (47 to 45) but the Wildcats committed 45 errors (21 attack, 12 service, 12 reception) in the loss. For the third straight match, graduate student
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) led Daemen offensively with a match-high 19 kills on the day.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Schneider totaled 19 kills off 23 attacks to hit at a .406 clip on the day. The outside hitter added four digs and two aces in the loss.
- Redshirt senior outside hitter Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) totaled 10 kills on 22 attacks along with seven digs and one block assist.
- Junior Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) and redshirt freshman Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) each totaled four kills today. Zelasko added seven digs, one ace and one assist while Mullen accounted for one block assist and one dig.
- Sophomore setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 36 assists, three kils, three digs and one ace.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Wildcats and Tigers traded points early, and after Daemen took a 12-11 lead, Princeton went on a tear, scoring eight of the next nine points off six Daemen errors to take a 19-13 advantage over the Cats. Daemen made it as close as a four-point game, 16-20, but the Tigers closed out the set on a 5-2 run to take the first, 25-18. The Wildcats were outhit 16 to 6 in the set.
- Princeton capitalized on the momentum from the first set and opened up the second on a 9-1 run. The Tigers held onto their lead throughout the rest of the set and took the second 25-18. 13 of Princeton's 25 points came off errors (11 attack, two service errors).
- After taking turns going on runs at the start of the third, Daemen took an 18-13 advantage in the middle of the set. Princeton would score four of the next five points to make it a four-point game, 21-17, but Daemen would earn their first set victory with a 25-19 win over the Tigers in the third to avoid the sweep and send the match to a fourth set. Schneider tallied seven of Daemen's 15 third set kills as the Wildcats hit .478 in the set.
- Similar to the start of the first set, Daemen and Princeton stayed tight to start the fourth. After an O'Neill kill gave the Wildcats the 15-13 lead, the Tigers scored five straight to lead 18-15. From there, Daemen scored five of the next seven points to tie the game up at 20, but the Tigers would close out the set on a 5-2 run to win the fourth 25-22 and take the match 3-1.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats open Northeast Conference play next weekend with a pair of road matches at Long Island University on Friday (March 28) and Saturday (March 29) down in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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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