BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Daemen University men's volleyball team defeated Judson University 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15) in a neutral site non-conference match at Saints Center Gym on Saturday, improving its record to 10-8, 3-1 NEC. The Wildcats secured the victory with an impressive .478 hitting percentage in the final set. Daemen finished the match outhitting Judson 46 to 30.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Redshirt junior Johnaustin Bly (Lancaster, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively with 13 kills, adding four aces and six digs to his 17-point outing.
• Freshman Jeremiah Laird (Canandaigua, N.Y.) appeared in his second career collegiate match today and posted a career-high nine kills on 13 attacks for a .538 hitting percentage while also accounting for one solo block, five block assists and three aces 
• Redshirt freshman Jonas Drum (Grand Island, N.Y.) totaled eight kills, one solo block and three block assists. 
• Junior Bradyn Winters (Coraopolis, Pa.) paced the Wildcats with 25 assists and six digs. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The first set commenced with Daemen taking an early lead, sparked by Bly's two consecutive service aces. The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas, aided by a series of Judson errors and solid blocking by Jeremiah Laird and Eddie Kwarciak. Midway through the set, Daemen erupted for a run, highlighted by a service ace from Jake Basinski (Eden, N.Y.) and a kill by Drum, extending the lead to 20-13. The Wildcats secured the set 25-20 with a final kill from Bly.
• Daemen capitalized on Judson's errors to establish an early lead, beginning the set with a 5-0 run that included two service aces by Jeremiah Laird. Judson struggled to close the gap as the Wildcats extended the advantage with effective blocking and strategic kills from Drum and Bly. A Judson service error sealed a 25-21 second-set victory for the Cats.
• Bly contributed significantly with multiple kills, including one at 14-11, while Winters facilitated several key plays. A series of errors, including service and attack errors, impacted the Wildcats' momentum. Despite a late effort by Daemen, including a kill by Kwarciak at 24-22, a service error finalized the set in favor of Judson, 25-22.
• Winters led the Wildcat offense with multiple key plays, including kills by Laird and Harrison Vargo (Allentown, Pa.). Bly made a notable contribution with several kills, including one that pushed the lead to 21-14. The Wildcats maintained control to the end, closing out the set 25-15 to win the match 3-1.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats are off next weekend but return to NEC play with a pair of road matches at Saint Francis (March 20-21) in Loretto, Pa.