Geoff Schneider

A Trio Of Matches On Tap For Men's Volleyball This Week

3/2/2026 4:24:00 PM

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

DOUBLE DUTY
The Daemen University men's volleyball team will play D'Youville University in a home-and-home series this week, first hosting the visiting crosstown rivals on Tuesday, March 3 in a 6 PM match at Lumsden Gymnasium then traveling across town to play at D'Youville's Saints Center Gym on Thursday, March 5 at 7 PM.

SPLIT WEEKEND
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-1 NEC-opening weekend after splitting games with Manhattan. Daemen dropped their first conference match of the season to the Jaspers 1-3 on Friday night but bounced back with a 3-1 win on Saturday afternoon. On Friday night, the Jaspers narrowly out-hit Daemen 49 to 45, but the it was errors that finished the Wildcats off. Daemen had 30 attack errors, 15 service errors, one block error and five reception errors in the loss. Sophomore Aidan White (Fairport, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively with 16 kills, adding two solo blocks and three block assists for a team-high 19.5 points while redshirt senior Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) finished with his second straight double-double (11 kills and 13 digs). Junior setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) paced the way 38 assists, seven digs and three block assists. Senior libero Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) totaled 11 digs. In Saturday's bounce-back win, the Wildcats cruised to a 3-1 victory. After hitting .118 in the loss to the Jaspers on Friday, the Wildcats offense was firing on all cylinders on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by a .356 hitting percentage while outhitting Manhattan 59 to 49. Four Daemen players contributed double-digit kills in the win, led by redshirt sophomore Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) with 15 kills. White posted 16.5 points after tallying 14 kills on 26 attacks for an impressive .423 hitting percentage. Wieberg totaled 12 kills, while redshirt sophomore Peter Leicht (Brockport, N.Y.) hit a team-best .563 off 11 kills on 16 attacks. Giraud finished with 48 assists.

STAT CATS
Daemen leads the league in service aces (1.58/set), ranks third in the conference in points (14.76/set), second in blocks (2.25/set), opponent kills (11.24/set), opponent blocks (1.77/set) and opponent digs (8.88). Mullen ranks second in the NEC in kills (3.58/set) and leads the conference in points (4.29/set). Leicht is third in the conference in blocks (1.0/set) and Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) ranks fourth (0.97/set). Giraud is fifth in the league in assists (8.5/set), Zelasko is fourth in digs this season (1.84/set) while the tandem of Wieberg and Mullen are fourth (0.43/set) and fifth (0.40/set) in aces, respectively.

THE GAMES THAT COUNT
Since joining the NEC as an associate member ahead of the inaugural 2023 season, the Wildcats have competed at the top of the conference, going 25-14 in the regular season over three years while compiling a 4-1 record in NEC postseason play. Daemen is the defending back-to-back NEC tournament champions, twice beating top-seeded Saint Francis at the Red Flash's home gym to earn the crown. With their second NEC tournament title last season, the Cats earned the conference's automatic bid to the National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-4 record in NEC regular season play in 2025 in which they finished third in the conference.

CO-FAVORITES
Daemen was picked as the co-favorite in the 2026 NEC Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats picked up three first-place votes, and finished tied with Saint Francis 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.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats are off next weekend but return to action on March 20-21 on the road at Saint Francis in Loretto, Pa.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS
D'Youville comes into this week's games with a 2-12 overall record and 0-2 record in NEC play. The Saints' two wins this season came against Thomas More (3-1 on Feb. 7) and St. Thomas Aquinas (3-0 on Feb. 20) but have since lost three straight matches. D'Youville is averaging 10.2 kills/set while hitting .174 on the season, both ranking seventh of seven in the NEC. The Saints are led offensively by Ethan Robinson who ranks fourth in the ECC with 3.43 kills/set. Dempsey Ptaszkiewicz leads the Saints at the net and ranks sixth in the league with 0.93 blocks/set.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 11-2 all-time against D'Youville, splitting last season's matches.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Playing in the NAIA in just their third season, Judson comes into this weekend's match with a 5-9 overall record. Coming to WNY from Illinois, the Eagles are set to play Daemen, D'Youville and Roberts Wesleyan at D'Youville in three matches. This season, Judson is averaging 11.15 kills/set and is led offensively by Mason Snodgrass (4.09 kills/set). This will be the first meeting between the Wildcats and Eagles.

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