NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — The Daemen University men's volleyball team saw its five-match winning streak come to an end following a 3-1 loss (25-27, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25) at Merrimack College this evening at Hammel Court on the Merrimack campus.

Daemen drops to 9-4 on the year. The host Warriors have won seven of their last eight games and improved to 7-4 on the season.

Daemen and Merrimack were conference foes in the Northeast Conference (NEC) the past two seasons and Daemen had prevailed in each of the previous four meetings between the two programs. The Warriors are competing as a NCAA Division I independent this season. 

Merrimack out-killed the Wildcats 53-41 this evening. The hosts hit .244 while holding Daemen to just a .143 hitting percentage—Daemen's second lowest hitting percentage this season. 

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Redshirt junior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with a career-high 18 kills, five service aces and eight digs. He eclipsed his previous career-high for kills (16), which he set in a win over Roberts Wesleyan this past Feb. 27.
• 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.
• Sophomore Bradyn Winters (Coraopolis, Pa.) equaled his career-high for assists with 32 and also registered five digs.
• Junior Logan Whitaker paced the Warriors with 18 kills, while sophomore Reece Lindstrom handed out 41 assists.

GAME NOTES

• The teams were tied 7-7 in the opening game when the Wildcats put together a 6-1 run and opened up a 13-8 lead. The Daemen lead was still five points, 18-13, when the hosts scored six of the next 10 points and cut the lead to a point, 19-18. The Wildcats later regained a 23-20 lead following a service ace by Wieberg, but the hosts rallied once again and eventually tied the game at 24-24. The Wildcats scored the next point, but the Warriors answered with three-straight points to complete the comeback, 27-25. 
• Merrimack jumped out to a 14-8 lead in game two, but a kill by Sturm sparked the Wildcats on a 7-2 run that cut the Merrimack lead to 16-15. Daemen later took a 21-19 lead following a service ace by Schneider and the Wildcats would go on to a 25-22 victory.
• The teams traded points early in game three and the Warriors held a 10-9 lead when the hosts put together a 7-3 spurt and opened up a 17-12 lead. Daemen scored the next two points following a timeout, but Merrimack regained momentum and later took a 20-15 lead following a Daemen attack error. The Warriors would post a 25-22 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Game four was tied at 10-10 when the hosts scored six of the next seven points to open up a 16-11 lead. Merrimack held a 19-14 lead when the Wildcats rallied and cut the lead to two points, 20-18. That is as close as Daemen would get, as the Warriors scored the next three points and eventually claimed the match with a 25-20 victory.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats are idle until March 20 when they travel to Fairfax, Va. to take on George Mason University, which is currently receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Collegiate poll. It will mark the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and the Patriots.

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.