Men's Volleyball Celebrates After A Point

Tournament Time! Reigning Champs Eye NEC Semifinals Against No. 2 Seed LIU

4/24/2025 1:00:00 PM

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

POSTSEASON
For the third consecutive season, the Daemen University men's volleyball team is headed to the Northeast Conference Tournament! The Wildcats enter the NEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 seed LIU on Friday at 3 PM in the first of two semifinals. The entire NEC Tournament is held in Loretto, Pa. on the campus of the three-time NEC regular season champions Saint Francis Red Flash, who garnered the top seed in the playoffs and hosting rights for the tournament.

REGULAR SEASON IN A GLANCE
The Wildcats finished third in the NEC in the regular season, posting a 4-4 record in conference play and a 13-12 overall record. After completing a gauntlet of a non-conference slate that consisted of taking on five nationally-ranked teams, including back-to-back ranked matches against #7 USC and #18 UC San Diego to open up the 2025 campaign and then facing three ranked teams in three consecutive matches in RV George Mason, #5 UC Irvine and #19 Princeton in one single weekend, the Wildcats, who had started the season 9-3, came limping into conference play with a 9-7 record. The tough battles did not stop there, as Daemen dropped both matches in their NEC opening weekend to LIU, 2-3 and 0-3, to start conference play on a 0-2 run and drop to 9-10 after falling at Harvard at the end of their weekend at LIU, marking their first losing record in the middle of the season since Daemen's inaugural season in 2019. The Wildcats picked up steam after returning to Lumsden Gymnasium on April 6-7 for the first time since Feb. 22 and rebounded by topping FDU 3-1 in both matches to even up their conference record at 2-2. Daemen earned their first ever regular season victory over league-leading Saint Francis in a 3-1 win on April 11, but fell to the Red Flash, 0-3 in the weekend finale on April 12. The Cats rounded out the year splitting their final series of the regular season with D'Youville, winning 3-1 at home on Senior Night on April 18 but dropping the regular season finale, 1-3 at D'Youville on April 19.

ALL-CONFERENCE
The Wildcats earned a record six spots on the All-NEC teams this season, with two Daemen players landing on the First Team All-NEC and four Wildcats picking up Second Team All-NEC honors. It marked the most all-conference players for the Wildcats in Daemen's three-year history in the conference, and was also the most players from a single team represented on the 16-person teams. Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) and Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) were named to the First Team, while Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.), Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.), Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) and Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) each earned Second Team All-NEC honors.

Zach Schneider earns his third career First Team All-NEC honor after putting together another successful season for the Wildcats. In his sixth and final season at Daemen, Schneider has started in 19 of Daemen's 25 matches this season and leads the Wildcats offensively with 273 total kills to average 3.9 kills/set (3rd in the NEC) while hitting at a .305 clip (5th in the NEC). The graduate student has 26 aces (0.37 aces/set ranks 5th in the league) and is third in the NEC with 4.61 points/set this season while adding 1.43 digs/set (100 total, third on the team) along with 39 total blocks. Daemen's offensive leader in 15 of the 19 matches he appeared in, he hit in the double-digits in 14 matches, including a season-high 23 kills against FDU on April 5, tying his own program record for single-game kills in a four set match.

Ondrej Arabasz collects all-conference honors for the second consecutive season, being named to the First Team for the first time this season. In his sophomore campaign, the 6-foot-7 middle blocker ranks second for the Wildcats at the net with 40 total blocks (0.62 blocks/set). With 103 kills (1.58 kills/set) and just 31 errors on 217 attacks on the year, the 2024 NEC Rookie of the Year leads the team and ranks second in the conference with a .332 hitting percentage and added 20 service aces this season. In nine matches this season, Arabasz had one or zero attack errors, three times finishing with zero errors in a match. He hit in the double figures in both matches against LIU this season, leading the Wildcats offensively against the Sharks on March 29 with 17 attacks with no errors for a .647 hitting percentage. Arabasz had a season-high .692 hitting percentage in Daemen's 3-1 win against CUI on Jan. 11 after totaling nine kills on 13 attacks with no errors. The middle blocker recorded at least one block in 12 of the 19 matches he played in this season, and finished with a season-high seven blocks in the 3-1 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 5.

Jariel Giraud took the reins as Daemen's primary setter for the majority of the season and earned Second Team All-NEC honors for the first time. Starting 15 matches, including six of the eight conference matches this season, Giraud led the Wildcats with 505 assists to average 9.18 assists per set, good for second in the league. In conference play, Giraud set the Wildcats to average 12.61 kills per set off 11.55 assists per set. The sophomore setter added 73 digs (1.33 digs/set), 29 total blocks (0.53 blocks/set), 19 kills and eight aces. On the year, Giraud posted 40 or more assists in five of the 15 matches that he played in, including a season-high 45 assists in the five set loss to LIU on March 28. He recorded at least one block in 11 matches, including totaling a career-high seven blocks against Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 5, and recorded at least one kill in 12 matches, finishing with a season-high three kills twice (vs. Princeton on March 22 and vs. Saint Francis on April 11).

Maverick O'Neill earns Second Team All-NEC honors for the first time in his career after a successful senior season. The middle blocker leads the Wildcats at the net with a career-high 67 total blocks and ranks second in the league with 0.89 blocks per set this season. O'Neill has accounted for 20 solo blocks this season -- a Daemen single-season record -- while adding 47 block assists on the year. Also an offensive threat as a middle, O'Neill has chipped in 73 kills (0.97 kills/set) on 162 attacks to hit at a .253 clip. O'Neill has recorded a block in 22 of the 23 matches that he's played in this season, and totaled multiple blocks in all but three of those matches. He had a career-high 10 blocks against LIU on March 28, recording eight assisted blocks and two solo blocks in the five-set loss to the Sharks. O'Neill has recorded at least one kill in 22 of 23 matches this season.

Billy Wieberg was named to the Second Team All-NEC for the first time in his career after putting together a breakout redshirt senior campaign. Hitting over 200 kills for the first time in his career, the 6-foot-4 outside hitter finished the regular season ranked second on the team with 213 kills (2.80 kills per set ranks ninth in the NEC) for a .266 hitting percentage. Wieberg led the way at the baseline for the Wildcats, totaling a team-high 29 aces and ranking second in the NEC in aces per set (0.38). The top Daemen player on serve receive this season, Weiberg received a team-high 431 receptions and finished the year with a 94.9% reception percentage. He also ranks second on the team in dig (104 total, 1.37 per set) and totaled 23 blocks on the year. Starting 23 of Daemen's 25 total matches, Wieberg hit in the double figures in 11 matches, including a career-high 18 kills against Merrimack on March 8 and tallied his first career double-double against D'Youville on April 18 with 17 kills and 14 digs.

Kyle Zelasko picks up his first career all-conference honor, landing on the Second Team All-NEC and is the only libero represented in the 16-person all-conference teams. Finishing his regular season junior campaign as Daemen's only full-time libero, Zelasko totaled 161 digs -- a Daemen single-season record -- and ranks second in the NEC with 1.87 digs per set this season. The junior posted double-digit digs in seven matches in 2025, and finished with a career-high 15 digs against D'Youville on April 18. 15 digs ties the Daemen single-game record for digs in a four-set match. Playing in 24 of Daemen's 25 total matches this year and playing in a team-high 86 sets on the year, Zelasko finished with a team-high 96.1% reception percentage after totaling 383 receptions and just 15 errors on serve receive. Zelasko played as an outside hitter in one match this season and finished with 13 kills on 33 attacks along with eight digs against LIU on March 28. He finished the season with 56 assists, 24 kills, three aces and four blocks.

DAEMEN IN THE NEC TOURNAMENT
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, who entered the inaugural 2023 postseason as the No. 3 seed, beat the Wildcats in the 2023 semifinals and went on to win the first ever NEC Tournament title, beating No. 1 Saint Francis in the championship match.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS
LIU comes into the NEC Tournament with their highest seed yet after earning the No. 3 seed in both the 2023 and 2024 tournaments. The Sharks, who finished the season second in the league with a 5-3 record and 17-8 overall record, sat at 5-1 in conference play going into their final weekend of the regular season against Saint Francis, with the winner of the weekend earning the regular season crown and hosting rights to the tournament. Playing in Loretto, the Red Flash took both matches, 3-1, against LIU to send the Sharks home riding a three-game losing streak entering the playoffs. LIU leads the league in points (16.18/set), kills (12.44/set), hitting percentage (.280), blocks (2.32/set), assists (11.56/set) and digs (9.78/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.208). Landing four players on the All-NEC teams, the Sharks are led offensively by a pair of heavy hitters including First Team All-NEC 6-foot-5 junior outside hitter Spencer Kale (228 kills) who has a league-high 4.07 kills/set.
First Team All-NEC 6-foot-5 junior outside hitter Chase Celichowski (224 kills) adds 3.11 kills/set (6th in the NEC) leads the league with a .338 hitting percentage and ranks third in the NEC with 0.38 aces/set (29 aces). Sophomore setter Roei Horovitz was the third LIU player to land on the All-NEC First Team after averaging 7.76 assists/set and 1.63 digs/set. As the top blocking team in the league, LIU has five players with 30+ blocks on the season and are led by 2025 NEC Defensive Player of the Year in 6-foot-9 junior middle blocker Isaac Benka (58 total blocks) who leads the NEC with 1.07 blocks/set (76 total).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Sharks are 4-4 all-time. LIU owns a 1-0 record over Daemen in postseason play.

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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