AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's volleyball team picked up a big 3-2 (17-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 15-12) comeback victory over LIU in their final regular season game of the year on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Daemen moves to 13-13 overall and 6-6 in NEC play.

The Wildcats, who are off in the final week of the NEC season next weekend, await to see the results of the other conference matches next week to earn the fourth and final spot in the NEC tournament. Daemen currently sits in fifth in the conference.

Daemen out-hit LIU 56 to 43 on the night, adding eight aces and eight total blocks. Two Wildcats finished with double-digit kills in the victory.

It was the final home game for six Daemen seniors today as the Wildcats honored Johnaustin Bly (Lancaster, N.Y.), Jake Basinski (Eden, N.Y.), Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.), Jack Rooney (Lakeview, N.Y.), Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) and Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) before their last match at Lumsden Gymnasium.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• On his Senior Day, redshirt senior outside hitter Billy Wieberg (Grand Island, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively with 16 kills on 39 attacks for a .231 hitting percentage and finished with his fourth double-double of the season, adding 11 digs and one ace.
• Redshirt sophomore right side Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) totaled 12 kills, nine digs, one ace and two block assists.
• Playing in his final game at Lumsden Gymnasium, fifth year middle blocker Maverick O'Neill (East Amherst, N.Y.) ended with eight kills on 14 attacks for a .357 hitting percentage, four solo blocks, two assisted blocks and three digs.
• Redshirt freshman Aidan White (Fairport, N.Y.) finished with nine kills, 10 digs, three aces and three assists.
• A four-year starter for the Wildcats playing in his last home game in a Daemen uniform, senior libero Kyle Zelasko (West Seneca, N.Y.) posted a season-high 21 digs and added four assists on the night.
• Junior setter Jariel Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 43 assists, eight digs, one ace and one kill.
• In his final home game, outside hitter Jack Rooney (Lakeview, N.Y.) totaled four kills, two aces and three digs.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Wildcats and Sharks traded points until the game was tied up at 14 all. From there, LIU went on a tear, scoring five unanswered points and 10 of the next 12 points to take a 23-16 advantage, and finished off the first set with a 25-17 win.
• The second set was full of runs from both teams. The Wildcats went on a three-point run to take an 11-8 lead, prompting LIU to score four unanswered to jump out to a 12-11 advantage. Daemen turned up the intensity, going on a 10-2 run off six Wildcat kills (three from Wieberg, two from Mullen, one from O'Neill) to lead 21-14. The Wildcats closed out the second 25-18 to tie the match up at one a piece.
• It was a back-and-forth start to the third. After a Wieberg kill brought the Wildcats within one, 16-15, LIU scored four straight off three Wildcat errors and a Shark kill to take a 20-15 lead. Daemen rallied off three kills and an ace to bring it within two, but the Sharks outlasted the late push to take the third 25-21.
• Daemen cruised to a fourth-set victory, 25-19, after taking an early lead (17-10) and never letting up from there. Daemen out-hit LIU 12-6 while hitting .321 and holding the Sharks to a 0.00 hitting percentage in the fourth set.
• The Wildcats never trailed in the fifth set. All tied up at 12 a piece, Daemen scored the final three points of the match off a Mullen kill and a pair of LIU attack errors to take the fifth set 15-12 and win the match, 3-2.