Geoff Schneider

East Coast Road Trip On Tap For Men's Volleyball

2/13/2026 12:00:00 PM

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

Match #10
Daemen Wildcats (3-6, 0-0 NEC) vs. Sacred Heart Pioneers (5-3, 0-0 EIVA)
Saturday, Feb. 14 | 4 PM | Fairfield, CT | William H. Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center
Links: Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+ (subscription required)

Match #11
Daemen Wildcats (3-6, 0-0 NEC) vs. American International Yellowjackets (0-7, 0-0 ECC)
Sunday, Feb. 15 | 12 PM | Springfield, Mass. | Henry A. Butova Gymnasium
Links: Live Stats | Watch on FloCollege (subscription required)

FINAL NON-CONFERENCE ROAD TRIP
The Daemen University men's volleyball team hits the pavement headed to the East Coast this weekend for their final non-conference road weekend of the season. The Wildcats will first take on former NEC foe Sacred Heart (5-3, 0-0 EIVA) on Saturday at 4 PM in Fairfield, CT and wrap up the trip playing at AIC (0-7, 0-0 ECC) on Sunday at noon in Springfield, Mass. Daemen is coming off a 1-1 weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind. where they picked up a 3-0 sweep over Northern Kentucky on Saturday to win their third straight match, but fell in five sets to former head coach Don Gleason's Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Sunday.

LAST WEEK
The Wildcats earned their third straight win in a 3-0 victory over first year program Northern Kentucky last Saturday in a match that saw the Cats hit 37 kills for a season high .405 hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore right side Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) registered 13 kills and just one attack error on 24 attacks to hit at .500 while redshirt senior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) totaled eight kills. Junior setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 29 assists, and redshirt junior Johnaustin Bly (Lancaster, N.Y.) finished with a team-high seven digs. Daemen looked to make it four straight wins as they took on Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, but the host Mastodons pulled off a five-set thriller to hand the Cats their sixth loss of the season. The Wildcats and Mastodons traded tight set victories throughout the match but PFW dominated in the fifth set, 15-7, and narrowly outhit the Cats 60 to 55. Mullen and Wieberg each registered a team-high 15 kills on the night while Giraud posted his first double-double of the season with 42 assists and 13 digs.

WEEKLY AWARDS
For the second straight week, Mullen earned NEC weekly honors, this time being named the NEC Player of the Week after leading the Wildcats with 28 kills (3.5/set) while hitting at a .350 clip over two matches. The redshirt sophomore tallied double-digit kills and led the team offensively in both matches and added 10 digs, two blocks, one ace and two assists. The top offensive weapon for the Wildcats this season, Mullen leads Daemen with 127 kills (3.74 kills/set) while hitting .261 through nine matches. The right side has totaled double-digit kills in seven of the nine matches this season while chipping in 45 digs -- third on the team -- along with 20 blocks and six aces. He is the first Wildcat to be named NEC Player of the Week this season and the second Daemen player to earn a weekly award. Peter Leicht was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 20 and Mullen earned Defensive Player of the Week last week (Feb. 3).

BACK-TO-BACK
Daemen enters the season as the two-time defending Northeast Conference champions. The Wildcats posted a 15-13 overall record in 2025, including a 4-4 mark in NEC play. Entering the NEC Championship tournament as the No. 3 seed, Daemen knocked off second-seeded LIU, and proceeded to oust top-seeded Saint Francis (Pa.) on their home floor for the second time in as many years. Their reward this time around was being the recipient of the NEC's first-ever automatic bid to the National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship. The Wildcats went on to host perennial powerhouse Penn State in the opening round, falling in three sets to end their season.

ALL-CONFERENCE CATS
Daemen placed a program-best six players on the All-NEC teams last season, four of whom return to the roster in 2026. Seniors Maverick O'Neill, Billy Wieberg and Kyle Zelasko, along with junior Jariel Giraud - all Second Team All-NEC selections last season - headline the Wildcats' 14 returners, along with junior Patrick Mullen. O'Neill is the team's most experienced player in the middle, having appeared in 54 matches over the last three seasons. He led the team with 80 blocks last season. Wieberg was the MVP of the NEC tournament, and he returns after averaging a career-best 2.84 kills per set last season. Zelasko has been the team's primary libero for the last two seasons, and he returns after leading the team with 194 digs in 2025. Giraud was limited by injury to 18 matches last season, his first as a starter, but still led the team in assists (602). Mullen will look to take his game to another level after posting 209 kills and 23 service aces last season.

BIG SHOES TO FILL
Perhaps the biggest question going into the season is how the Wildcats will fill the massive void left by the graduation of Zach Schneider. A three-time All-NEC First Team and two-time AVCA All-America honorable mention selection, Schneider appeared in 117 matches over parts of six seasons with the Wildcats. He left as the program's all-time leader in matches played, kills (1,483), service aces (156) and digs (625).

WHAT'S NEW
The Wildcats' 19-man roster features five newcomers, all of whom are first-year collegiate players. The greenhorns include 6-foot-1 defensive specialist Lucas Pynn, 6-foot-3 setter Rocco Lucci, 6-foot-7 middle hitter/right side Harrison Vargo, 6-foot-7 middle hitter/right side Jeremiah Laird and 6-foot-5 outside hitter/right side Charlie Allesi.

WHERE WE HEADED?
All over the place is the simple answer. The Wildcats' 2026 schedule includes matches in eight different states - California, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and, of course, New York. After returning from the season-opening trip to SoCal, Daemen will participate in four-team events hosted by Charleston (W.Va.) (Jan. 16-17) and Saint Francis (Jan. 24-25), before making their home debut Jan. 27 against Roberts Wesleyan. A trip to Indiana in early February to face former Wildcat head coach Don Gleason and his Purdue Fort Wayne team highlights the early portion of the schedule. Northeast Conference play gets underway Feb. 27 with new member Manhattan visiting Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen's rivalry with D'Youville takes center take in early March with the teams playing twice over a three day span (Mar. 3 at Daemen, Mar. 5 at DYU). The Wildcats visit Saint Francis for a rematch of last season's NEC Championship final on Mar. 20-21. The 2026 regular season concludes with LIU visiting Lumsden Gymnasium on Apr. 10-11. The NEC Championship tournament will be hosted by the No. 1 seed, with semifinals slated for Apr. 24 and finals on Apr. 25.

CO-FAVORITES
Daemen has been picked as the co-favorite in the 2026 Northeast Conference Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats picked up three first-place votes, and finished tied with Saint Francis University (Pa.) atop the poll. Daemen enters the 2026 campaign as the two-time defending NEC champions. LIU and FDU each received one first-place vote, and finished third and fourth, respectively, in the poll. New NEC members Manhattan and Maryland Eastern Shore occupied poll positions five and six, respectively, while D'Youville was picked seventh to round it out.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Wildcats take on former NEC member Sacred Heart for the sixth time in series history with Daemen winning the last four meetings between the two teams. Playing in the EIVA now, the Pioneers come into this weekend with a 5-3 record. SHU's three losses this season have come against teams that are receiving votes in the AVCA national poll, falling to Jessup University in both matches (0-3, 1-3) and St. Thomas Aquinas last week (0-3). Averaging 11.63 kills/set, the Pioneers feature a balanced offense with eight players hitting in the double figures so far this season. Junior outside hitter Petr Beranek leads SHU with 61 kills (2.77/set) while junior outside hitter Aleksa Mandic has added 46 (3.07/set) kills on the year. Austin Buchanan is the leading blocker for the Pios with 26 total blocks (1.08/set) this season.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen owns a 4-1 series record over the Pioneers and has won the last four matches, sweeping SHU in both matches in 2023 and 2024 in NEC play.

SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS
Meeting the Cats for the fifth straight season, AIC comes into Sunday's match winless on the year (0-7). Their first three losses of the year came to Division III opponents in Nichols, Wentworth and Lassell and since then, AIC has lost to Sacred Heart twice, LIU and FDU in 0-3 decisions. Averaging 10.3 kills/set this season, the Yellowjackets have five players with 30+ kills on the year and are led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Emil Zhmaidziak with 55 (2.29/set) while Jamilson Almeida has 45 kills (2.37/set) on the year. Freshman middle blocker Dymittry Terra leads the Jackets with 24 blocks (0.96/set).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 8-0 all-time against AIC.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium next weekend for a pair of non-conference matches against Dominican (Friday, Feb. 20) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Saturday, Feb. 21).

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