Maverick O'Neill high fives Peter Leicht

James P. McCoy

Wildcats Host LIU In Final Regular Season Weekend

4/9/2026 12:24:00 PM

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

FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEKEND
The Daemen University men's volleyball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for their final weekend of regular season action on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11. The Wildcats, who enter the weekend with a 12-12 overall record and 5-5 record in NEC play, will host the LIU Sharks, who currently sit at 11-13 overall and 3-5 in conference play, in matches at 6 PM on Friday and 4 PM on Saturday.

THANK YOU SENIORS
Saturday will mark the final home game for six Wildcat seniors, 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.), as they will be honored before the match on Senior Day.

Johnaustin Bly: Playing in his redshirt junior season, Bly, an outside hitter, has appeared in 233 sets over 75 matches. Totaling 91 kills on 242 attacks over his three-year playing career, Bly also contributed 134 digs, 43 assists, 23 aces and 12 total blocks. Playing in 23 of Daemen's 24 total matches this season, he has put together his best year yet, totaling 50 kills, 12 aces, 22 assists, and six total blocks -- all career-high numbers -- along with 55 digs.

Jake Basinski: A fifth-year outside hitter, Basinski has been around the Daemen men's volleyball program since the 2022 season and seen playing time since 2023. Appearing in 79 sets through 48 matches in his Daemen career, Basinski has a total of 26 kills, 10 aces, 33 kills, 10 blocks and five assists to his name.

Maverick O'Neill: Playing in his fifth year at Daemen, O'Neill has steadily become a solid middle blocker for the Wildcats, improving each season at the net as well as being an offensive threat up front. A 2025 Second Team All-NEC player, O'Neill has played in 250 sets over 76 matches and totaled 233 blocks, 59 solo and 174 assisted -- all Daemen program records -- along with 327 kills, 88 digs, 28 assists and 23 aces. O'Neill averages 0.93 blocks per set over his four-year playing career -- the best in Daemen program history -- while hitting .304 in his career. In his fifth year at Daemen, O'Neill has 87 blocks -- a single-season program record -- averaging 1.04 blocks per set, breaking his own program record (0.92 set in 2025) -- while adding 113 kills offensively.

Jack Rooney: A three-year player for the Wildcats, Rooney has appeared in 61 sets over 28 matches and recorded 92 kills, 55 digs, 11 aces, 12 assists and 10 blocks over his Daemen career. Playing in 17 matches last season, Rooney totaled 57 kills, 33 digs, 6 aces and 8 blocks. This year he totaled 17 kills over 5 matches along with two blocks and nine digs.

Billy Wieberg: Over the course of his five-year career at Daemen and four years on the court, Wieberg has steadily grown to be an offensive weapon for the Wildcats, totaling 635 kills (third all-time) along with 85 aces (third in Daemen history), 338 digs (fourth all-time), 102 blocks and 89 assists. A 2025 Second Team All-NEC player, Wieberg has finished second on the team offensively in each of the last two seasons and is on track to break last season's career-best record for single-season kills (250) this weekend, coming into the final regular season weekend with 220 kills (2.72/set), 31 aces, 116 digs and 38 blocks over 21 matches.

Kyle Zelasko: Playing in his fourth year at Daemen and second as the Wildcats' libero, Zelasko comes into his final homestand weekend having appeared in 337 sets (third all-time) over 97 matches (third all-time) while totaling 574 digs (second in Daemen history) for 1.70 digs per set (second all-time), adding 163 kills, 163 assists, 41 aces and 34 total blocks. Earning Second Team All-NEC honors in 2025, Zelasko set the program record for single-season sets played (98) and single-season digs (194) a season ago. In his senior campaign, Zelasko has 177 digs (2.19/set) and 47 assists over 21 matches.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
These six seniors have helped Daemen to the hardest four year stretch in program history. Daemen joined the NEC as an associate member as a part of the conference's inaugural season in 2023 and have played some serious competition over the last four seasons, posting a 64-38 overall record and a 29-15 record in NEC play. Finishing second (2023, 2024) and third (2025) in regular season conference play over the past three seasons, the Wildcats are the back-to-back defending NEC tournament champions (2024, 2025), and after earning the conference's first automatic bid to the NCAA National Collegiate Tournament last season, Daemen hosted the Penn State Nittany Lions in the NC Tournament play-in game at Lumsden Gymnasium.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Wildcats have held quite the home court advantage over the eight year history of the program! Daemen owns a 52-14 record at Lumsden Gymnasium, including five seasons with one or fewer home losses. This season, the Cats are 7-1 at home, with their one loss coming in their NEC opener against Manhattan.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Coming into Daemen's final weekend of regular season play, the Wildcats currently sit in fifth in the NEC. The top four teams advance to the 2026 NEC Tournament, to be hosted at the home of the regular season champion on April 24-25. Daemen is one of two teams, alongside Manhattan, that has played 10 conference games. The Wildcats are done after this weekend's matches and will be watching the rest of the conference next weekend to see if they can move up to fourth place in the standings.

NEC Standings (as of April 9)
FDU (6-2)
Saint Francis (6-2)
Manhattan (6-4)
Maryland Eastern Shore (4-4)
Daemen (5-5)
LIU (3-5)
D'Youville (0-8)

SCOUTING THE SHARKS
LIU comes into this weekend with an 11-13 overall record and 3-5 record in NEC play. The Sharks are coming off their series against Maryland Eastern Shore where they got swept by the Hawks, 2-3 on Friday and 0-3 in Saturday's match. On the year, LIU leads the league in kills (12.14/set), digs (9.43/set), and assists (11.43/set) and ranks second in the NEC in points (15.56/set), hitting percentage (.250) and opponent blocks (1.8/set). With three players tallying 200+ kills this season, the Sharks are led by freshman outside hitter Vernon Ike with 310 kills (3.97/set leads the NEC) who hits .265 on the year (seventh in the league). Senior outside hitter Kale Spencer is averaging 3.14 kills/set while hitting .255 and averages 0.41 aces per set.

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