Zach Schneider and Maverick O'Neill get a block against FDU

Geoff Schneider

Saint Francis Comes To Lumsden For Pair Of Big NEC Matches

4/10/2025 10:35:00 AM

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

THE CATS ARE BACK
The Daemen University men's volleyball team will host the league-leading Saint Francis University Red Flash in a pair of home matches this weekend at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats and Red Flash will square off on Friday, April 11 at 7 PM and again on Saturday, April 12 at 4 PM. Daemen, who collected their first Northeast Conference wins this past weekend in a pair of 3-1 victories over FDU, comes in with a 11-10 overall record and a 2-2 record in NEC play, while Saint Francis, who sits atop the NEC, comes in at 10-12 on the year and 4-0 in NEC match ups.

WINNING WAYS
The Wildcats got back on track with a pair of victories over FDU last weekend, snapping a seven-game losing streak and picking up their first wins in conference play. Daemen got back on track with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-14) victory over the Knights on Friday night, led by the performances of a trio of Wildcats hitting in the double-digits. The Wildcats totaled a season-high 75 points and tied a season-high 54 kills while hitting at a season-high .396 in the win. Graduate student Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) tied Daemen's four-set kill record with 23 on the day while hitting at a .405 clip, while redshirt junior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) and redshirt freshman Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) chipped in 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Wieberg had 14 kills on 20 attacks for a match-high .550 hitting percentage, and Mullen posted 10 kills on 19 attacks to hit .368 on the day. Sophomore setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) posted 41 assists, four solo blocks, two block assists and five digs, and junior libero Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) finished with a team-high six digs. On Saturday, the Wildcats again beat FDU 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22) after posting a season-high 57 kills in the win to hit .379. It marked the seventh match that Daemen hit .300 or better this season. Schneider (15 kills), Mullen (14 kills) and Wieberg (11 kills) each tallied double-digit kills for the second straight match, combining for 40 of Daemen's 57 kills. Senior middle blocker Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) finished with nine kills and just two errors on 12 attacks for a .583 hitting percentage, Giraud posted 44 assists and seven digs and Zelasko finished with a team-high eight digs.

WEEKLY AWARDS
For the third time this season, Mullen was named the First Point/NEC Rookie of the Week after finishing with 24 kills (3.0 kills/set). His 10 and 14 kill performances marked the first time this season that he hit double-digit kills in back-to-back games, and his 14 kill outing against the Knights on Sunday marked a career-high for the redshirt freshman. This season, Mullen ranks third on the team offensively, totaling 124 kills (2.14 kills/set) for a .198 hitting percentage. He also ranks third on the team with 18 aces, and is tied for fourth on the team with 28 total blocks (0.48 blocks/set).

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Historically, Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium has been a clear home court advantage for the Wildcats. Since the 2022 season, the Wildcats have a 92% win rate at home, posting a 35-3 record at Lumsden. Including last weekend's pair of wins, Daemen is 6-0 on their home court this season, beating Dominican (3-0), Roberts Wesleyan (3-1), Central State (3-0), AIC (3-0) and FDU (3-1) & (3-1) this year.

FINAL PUSH
With the top four teams in the conference advancing to the NEC Tournament, the Wildcats currently sit third in the league at 2-2 coming into this weekend's matchups with the league-leading Red Flash. Saint Francis (4-0) and LIU (5-1) have already clinched spots in the tournament. After these matches against SFU, the Wildcats have just one weekend left against D'Youville (0-4), hosting their crosstown rival on Friday, April 18 for their final regular season home match then closing out the regular season at D'Youville on Saturday, April 19. Daemen, who has finished as the regular season runners-up for the past two seasons in the NEC, is the reigning NEC Tournament champions after taking down Saint Francis, 3-1, in the championship match last season. The winner of the NEC Tournament will get the conference's first ever automatic bid to the Division I Men's Volleyball Tournament.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will host D'Youville on Friday, April 18 for Senior Day in their final regular season home match.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
Winners of the past two NEC regular season titles, Saint Francis is again undefeated in conference play coming into this weekend with a 4-0 record in NEC action while sitting at 10-12 on the year. Seven of SFU's 12 losses have come against nationally-ranked teams this season. The Red Flash are riding a six game win streak coming into the weekend, including all four wins in conference play against D'Youville (3-0, 3-0) and FDU (3-1, 3-0). SFU ranks second in the league behind only LIU in points (15.69/set), hitting percentage (.274), kills (12.28/set) and assists (11.33/set), while leading the league in aces (1.63/set), opponent kills (10.20/set), opponent assists (9.46/set), opponent blocks (1.7/set) and opponent aces (1.16/set). The Red Flash rank last in the conference in blocks with a league-low 1.78/set this season. Saint Francis is led offensively by 6-foot-5 senior outside hitter Andrew Deardorff with 3.91 kills/set (309 total kills) which ranks second in the league in both kills and points (4.69/set). Deardorff also leads the NEC in aces (0.59/set, 47 total). 6-foot-7 junior outside hitter Brady Stump ranks second on the team in kills (190 total) and also chips in with 2.79 kills/set this season (7th in the NEC).

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 1-6 all-time against Saint Francis, with their 3-1 victory over the Red Flash in the NEC Tournament as their sole win in the series.

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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