AMHERST, N.Y. -- Following a star-studded collegiate career with Daemen University men's volleyball, recent graduate Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) has been selected to participate in the 2025 USA Volleyball Beach National Team Development Program in Hermosa Beach, Calif. from June 9 through 19.

Schneider is one of 12 of the nation's top collegiate athletes in the country for the chance to be one of the four athletes representing the United States on the U23 Beach National Team. At the National Team Development Program (NTDP), the participants will play in the Beach Senior National Team NORCECA Trials on June 18-19. The winners at the trials will automatically earn a bid to represent the USA at an established NORCECA competition. 

"I was very excited to receive an invite to participate in this incredible opportunity! I am looking forward to competing and training with some of the best beach players in the country at my age, and to be coached by some of the best coaches in the country as well," Schneider said when he got the invitation to participate in the Beach NTDP. "I have never received any formal beach training, so this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me."

The coaching staff for the BNTDP includes Dan Friend, head men's volleyball coach of Lewis University, Steve McFadden, assistant coach of the University of Washington beach volleyball team, and Mike Campbell, the women's beach volleyball head coach at Long Beach State. Over the 10-day training program, athletes will be coached in both on and off sand sessions, including nutrition, sports psychology, performance analysis, strength and conditioning and beach national team overview. 

Schneider closed out his six-year Daemen career as a two-time AVCA All-America Honorable Mention awardee, the only Wildcat in program history to ever be named an All-American. He helped lead the Wildcats to back-to-back Northeast Conference Tournament titles and led Daemen to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. This season, he 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). 

"It is a great honor to receive this invitation after my collegiate playing days are over," Schneider said. "It is one of my goals to improve as much as I can in the beach game and compete at the highest level possible. It's cool to see that my game can evolve past indoor and into the beach side without missing a beat."
 

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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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