AMHERST, N.Y. – For the second straight match, the Daemen University men's volleyball team collected a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22) victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University to improve to 11-10 on the year and 2-2 in Northeast Conference play, while dropping the Knights to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in NEC matches.
The Wildcats posted a season-high 57 kills in the win to hit .379, marking the seventh match that Daemen hit .300 or better this season.
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.),
Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) and
Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) each tallied double-digit kills for the second straight match, combining for 40 of Daemen's 57 kills.
Daemen beat FDU for the fifth straight match and moves to 7-1 all-time against FDU. Road warriors for the entire month of March, the Wildcats finally remain at home now and will host league-leading Saint Francis University next weekend in a pair of matches on Friday and Saturday (April 11-12) at 7 PM and 4 PM, respectively.
PHOTO GALLERY
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Schneider led the Wildcats offensively for the 12th match this season, finishing with 15 kills and five errors on 36 attacks for a .278 clip. The graduate student outside hitter chipped in seven digs, four block assists, three assists and one ace.
- Mullen posted a career-high 14 kills with six errors on 31 attacks to hit at .258 and added six digs, one ace, one assist and one solo block.
- Wieberg totaled 11 kills on 18 attacks with zero errors for a team-high .611 clip along with six digs, one solo block, one assisted block, one solo block and one ace.
- 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, adding two block assists and two digs.
- Sophomore setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) posted 44 assists, seven digs, one kill and one block assist in the win.
- Junior libero Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) finished with a team-high eight digs and two assists.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Wildcats and Knights traded points to 11, but from there FDU would take a lead and never relinquish it, despite a late push from the Cats to tie it up at 19 and keep the game close. With Daemen bringing the game within one, 24-23, the Knights closed it out with a kill to take the first, 25-23 after tallying 18 kills on 38 attacks.
- FDU opened the second up 6-3 after four Wildcat errors until the Cats went on an 8-4 run to take an 11-10 lead. After scoring four of five points in the middle of the set to take a 16-13 advantage, Daemen remained in the lead for the rest of the set and took the second, 25-22.
- The Knights jumped out to a 13-6 advantage, but it didn't hold for long. Daemen put together a 15-4 run, including scoring six straight, to lead 21-17. The Knights scored three of the next four to make it a two-point game, 22-20, but the Cats closed it out with a trio of kills from Arabasz, Wieberg and Schneider to win 25-20.
- With eight service errors to open up the fourth set, Daemen and FDU were tied up at 15 in the middle of the set. The Wildcats scored four of the next five to take a 19-16 advantage, and that would stay Daemen's lead throughout the rest of the set as both teams scored six points apiece to end the set. The Wildcats won the fourth set, 25-22, to take the match 3-1 over FDU.
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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