AMHERST, N.Y. -- The Daemen University men's volleyball team will play 28 matches in the 2027 regular season, head coach Sean Byron announced today. The Wildcats will have 11 home matches at Lumsden Gymnasium as well as 17 matches on the road, traveling to six different states throughout the year. 

The Wildcats open the Byron era with a pair of early January road matches in Chicago, Illinois against perennial powerhouses Lewis (Friday, Jan. 8) and Loyola Chicago (Saturday, Jan. 9). It will be the first time the Wildcats and Flyers meet on the court, and just the second time that Daemen face the Ramblers (previous meeting was a 1-3 Loyola Chicago victory on the road in 2022). Daemen will then travel to Virginia to play at George Mason for the second consecutive season on Friday, Jan. 15. The Wildcats will then face Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday, Jan. 20 in the final road trip to start the season. 

Daemen makes their Lumsden Gymnasium debut on Friday, Jan. 29 against former head coach Donny Gleason's Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. Gleason was the inaugural coach of the Wildcats and was the head coach from 2019 to 2024. The Wildcats face the Redhawks for the second time in two weeks on Wednesday, Feb. 3 as they host Roberts Wesleyan. The Wildcats have never lost to RWU (6-0 all-time). Daemen then travels to New Jersey for a pair of matches against NJIT (Friday, Feb. 5) and Princeton (Saturday, Feb. 6). Daemen and NJIT play for the second season in a row with Daemen looking to avenge their 0-3 home loss last year. This will be the fourth time the Wildcats and Tigers meet on the court, with Daemen holding a 2-1 record over Princeton. The Wildcats return to Lumsden on Saturday, Feb. 13 to host American International before heading downstate to play at St. Thomas Aquinas (Friday, Feb. 19) and first-year program Mercy (Saturday, Feb. 20). Daemen welcomes new Division II program Monroe to Western New York on Saturday, Feb. 27 before heading to Kentucky to play at Kentucky State (Friday, March 5) and then up to Ohio to play at Central State (Saturday, March 6). 

The Wildcats open NEC play with a pair of home games against crosstown rival D'Youville on Monday, March 8 and Tuesday, March 9 before welcoming former NEC foe Saint Francis back to Lumsden Gymnasium for a non-league matchup on Saturday, March 13. Daemen will then head down to Happy Valley to play at Penn State on Saturday, March 20 marking the first time the two teams have met since the Nittany Lions eliminated Daemen from the NC Championship tournament in 2025. 

First year head coach Sean Byron returns 11 players from Daemen's 2026 squad. Second-team All-NEC right side Patrick Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) highlights the returners after leading the team with 334 kills (3.67 kills/set), 35 aces, 46 blocks and 131 digs a season ago. Redshirt junior Peter Leicht (Brockport, N.Y.) made an impact at the net in 2026, finishing second on the team in blocks with 78 (0.84/set) and adding 116 kills. Redshirt sophomore Aidan White (Fairport, N.Y.) put together a solid first season and totaled 157 kills and 27 blocks. After losing six players from the 2026 team, including three second team All-NEC players, Byron brought in six freshman to bring the roster to 17 players.