AMHERST, N.Y. -- For the second time in his collegiate career, Daemen University graduate student
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) is named to the 35th annual
American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Collegiate Men's Volleyball All-America Team on Monday afternoon, taking home Honorable Mention status for the second time. The AVCA All-America selections were voted on by the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball All-America Committee. Schneider, who was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2023, is still the only Daemen men's volleyball player to earn AVCA All-America honors in Daemen's seven year history.
Playing in his final season over a wildly successful six-year career as a Wildcat, Schneider helped Daemen to another fantastic season on the court, winning the program's second straight Northeast Conference Tournament title and earning a bid to the NCAA NC Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament for the first time in program history where they hosted #20 Penn State University in the tournament play-in game on Friday. The Wildcats finished the season with a 15-13 overall record.
Schneider collected his third straight First Team All-NEC honors this season after leading the Wildcats offensively for the sixth straight season with 309 total kills, marking his third consecutive 300+ kill season, to average a team-high 3.77 kills per set while hitting .297 on the year. Playing in 22 of 28 matches this season, Schneider added 121 digs (1.48 per set), 29 aces (0.35 per set) and 41 blocks (0.50 per set). He finished the regular season ranked in the NEC in kills (3rd), points (3rd), hitting percentage (5th) and aces (5th). Daemen's offensive leader in 16 of the 22 matches he appeared in, he hit in the double-digits in 17 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. He was named to the NEC All-Tournament Team for the second straight season this year.
On top of an outstanding final season with Daemen, Scheider's legacy as a Wildcat will extend far after he graduates. The program's all-time career leader in matches played (117), sets played (411), total kills (1,483), kills per set (3.61), attack attempts (3,098), service aces (156), aces per set (0.38), digs (625), blocks (196), solo blocks (50), assisted blocks (146), points (1762) and points per set (4.29), Schneider leaves Daemen as the most decorated player in program history, helping the Wildcats to 90 wins over his career, the 2024 and 2025 NEC Tournament titles, three 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, 2025).
Schneider is still the first Daemen men's volleyball player to earn AVCA All-America honors, but joins former women's volleyball players
Caitlyn Meyer, Ashley Drzymala, Jasmine Brundage and Giselle Giraud to receive AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors.
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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