Men's volleyball huddles up after a point

Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Have Home And Home With D'Youville In Final Regular Season Weekend

4/17/2025 11:48:00 AM

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

FINAL WEEKEND
The Daemen University men's volleyball team is set to play their final regular season weekend with a home-and-home against crosstown rival D'Youville University on Friday and Saturday. The Wildcats will host the Saints on Friday at 7 PM for Senior Night on their final home game of 2025, then will head to D'Youville's campus on Saturday at 4 PM to play in the last match of the regular season. Daemen comes into the weekend with a 12-11 overall record and a 3-3 record in Northeast Conference play, while the Saints are 6-15 overall and 0-6 in NEC action.

SPLIT
Daemen put together a 1-1 weekend against league-leading Saint Francis at Lumsden Gymnasium last weekend. The Wildcats handed the Red Flash their first conference loss of the season in a 3-1 victory on Friday night, marking their second consecutive win over SFU dating back to the NEC championship match last season. A trio of Wildcats hit in the double-digits in the win, with graduate student Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and redshirt freshman Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) each totaling 14 kills while redshirt junior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) chipping in 11 kills in the win. Schneider, Mullen and Wieberg combined for 39 of Daemen's 51 kills. With the Wildcats looking for a sweep over the Red Flash for the first time in program history, SFU snapped Daemen's seven-game home win streak in a 3-0 win over the Cats to split the weekend. In what was a close match from start to finish, the statistics showed much of the same. The Red Flash narrowly out-hit the Wildcats 36 to 35 on the night, committing six fewer attack errors to finish with a .267 hitting percentage compared to Daemen's .148 in the match. Daemen posted 10 service aces while allowing just six from SFU, but Saint Francis out-blocked Daemen 8.0 to 5.0 in the match. Both teams had just one player hit in the double-digits today, with Wildcat graduate student Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) leading Daemen with 14 kills while SFU senior Andrew Deardorff led the Red Flash with 10 kills.

CLINCHED
The Wildcats clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament for the third consecutive season after splitting the weekend with Saint Francis last week. Daemen is coming off the program's first ever NEC Tournament Championship victory in 2024 after beating FDU, 3-0, in the semifinals and taking down the top-seeded Red Flash, 3-1, in the championship game. Over the past two seasons, the Wildcats are 2-1 all-time in the NEC Tournament after coming in as the No. 2 seed in the tournament in both of the previous seasons. LIU, Saint Francis and FDU will be the other three teams in the tournament next weekend, with the regular season champion hosting the tournament. LIU and Saint Francis, who both have a 5-1 record in NEC play, will play one another this weekend for the top seed, hosting rights and regular season championship this weekend.

WEEKLY AWARDS
For the sixth time this season, Zach Schneider was named the First Point/NEC Player of the week after leading the Wildcats offensively in both matches against Saint Francis this weekend. Schneider finished with 28 kills (4.0 kills/set) while hitting at a .322 percentage as the Cats split with the league's top team this weekend. The graduate student outside hitter totaled 14 kills in both matches against Saint Francis while adding nine digs, three aces, three assists, one solo block and one assisted block on the weekend.

THANK YOU, SENIORS
Friday's match will be the final home game for Daemen seniors Zach Schneider and Ethan Sturm as the Wildcats celebrate the two for Senior Day celebrations before the match against the Saints.

Zach Schneider, OH, Lockport, NY: There is not a player in Daemen's seven year program history that has left more of a mark than Zach Schneider. In his sixth season with the Wildcats, Schneider has started in 18 of Daemen's 23 matches this season and leads the Wildcats offensively with 255 total kills to average 3.86 kills/set (third in the NEC) while hitting at a .306 clip (third in the NEC). The graduate student has 26 aces (0.39 aces/set ranks fourth in the league) and is third in the NEC with 4.61 points/set this season while adding 1.42 digs/set (94 total, second on the team) along with 38 total blocks. Scheider's legacy as a Wildcat will extend far after he graduates. The program's all-time career leader in matches played (113), sets played (395), total kills (1,429), kills per set (3.62), attack attempts (2,974), service aces (112), aces per set (0.39), digs (598), blocks (193), solo blocks (49), assisted blocks (144), points (1703) and points per set (4.31), Schneider leaves Daemen as the most decorated player in program history, helping the Wildcats to 87 wins over his career, the 2024 NEC Tournament title, two First Team All-NEC honors, the 2023 NEC Player of the Year award, and is the only Daemen player in program history to be named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America (2023).

Ethan Sturm, MB, Lisle, Ill.: Sturm transferred to Daemen ahead of his sophomore campaign after playing at Alderson Broaddus for his freshman season in 2022. The 6-foot-5 senior middle blocker has appeared in 10 matches for the Wildcats this season and totaled 19 kills on 46 attacks for a .326 hitting percentage along with 12 blocks (5 solo), 10 digs and one ace. Over his three year Daemen career, Sturm has played in 50 sets over 25 matches and accounted for 74 kills (1.48 kills/set) off 133 attacks for a .466 hitting percentage. Sturm totaled 33 blocks (0.66 blocks/set), 23 digs, seven aces and four assists in his career.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will play in the 2025 NEC Tournament next weekend, Friday, April 25 for the semifinals and Saturday, April 26 for the championship.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS
It's been a tough season for D'Youville, who comes into the weekend with a 6-15 overall record and 0-6 record in NEC play. This year, D'Youville is averaging 10.2 kills per set while allowing their opponents to hit12.7 kills/set. The Saints are led offensively by 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter Ian De Wilde with 172 kills (2.39 kills/set ranks 10th in the NEC) who also leads the team with 18 service aces and is second on the team with 100 total digs this season. 6-foot-5 senior middle blocker Tymek Brzoza ranks second on the team with 149 kills (2.07 kills/set) for a .283 hitting percentage (6th in the NEC) and leads the Saints at the net with 61 blocks (0.85 blocks/set ranks 4th in the league).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 10-1 all-time against the Saints and have won the last 10 meetings between the two programs.

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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