AMHERST, N.Y. -- For the second consecutive season, four members of the Daemen University men's volleyball team have been named to the 2024 All-Northeast Conference team, and one Wildcat picked up a major award for the season, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon. Freshman middle blocker
Ondrej Arabasz (Jicin, Czech Republic) was voted the NEC Rookie of the Year. Arabasz is joined by a trio of major award winners from the regular season champions Saint Francis, with junior opposite Nathan Zini earning Player of the Year, senior libero Peyton Blain earning Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Mike Rumbaugh being named NEC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.
Daemen senior opposite
Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) was named to the All-NEC First Team along with fifth year outside hitter
Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.). Arabasz earned Second Team All-NEC alongside fifth year setter
Sean Califf (Oak Park, Ill.).
After being named to the 2023 All-NEC Second Team, Milligan earns First Team all-conference honors on the heels of a solid senior season. The 6-foot-6 opposite was one of three players to appear in all 24 matches on the season, starting in 22, and ranks second on the team with 233 total kills and sixth in the league with 3.11 kills per set while ranking third in the NEC with a .350 hitting percentage. Milligan also ranks third in the league with 0.40 aces per set (30 total), sixth in points per set (3.88) and ranks third on the team with 48 total blocks. The senior tallied double-digit kills in 16 matches this season, including a season-high 17 kills in Daemen's big 3-2 upset over #12 UC Santa Barbara on February 2. Ranking second all-time in the Daemen record books with 667 total kills, Milligan has a career .289 hitting percentage, 87 aces, 266 digs and 116 blocks over his four year career, appearing in 80 matches and playing in 265 total sets. Milligan was a two-time NEC Player of the Week and three-time Prime Performer this season.
Schneider earns First Team All-NEC for the second straight season after putting together a stellar fifth year campaign. As the Wildcats' offensive leader, Schneider ranks third in the league with 3.87 kills per set (294 total) and sixth in the NEC with a .301 hitting percentage. His 27 service aces rank eighth in the conference, and he ranks fourth in the NEC with 4.47 points per set on the year. He became the first player in program history to tally 1,000 career kills, earning the pivotal milestone in a 3-0 victory at D'Youville on Feb. 29. Schneider has posted double-digit kills in 16 matches this season and led the Wildcats offensively in 15 matches. He posted a season-high 22 kills twice this season, first against Sacred Heart on Feb. 16 and again on March 22 at Saint Francis. Daemen's all-time leading attacker has 1,166 total kills for a .305 hitting percentage over five seasons, 124 aces, 148 blocks and just tallied his 500th career dig against Sacred Heart in the regular season finale on Saturday to sit at 502 total digs. Schneider earned First Point/NEC Player of the Week three times this season and was named a Prime Performer eight times throughout the year.
A 6-foot-7 middle blocker from Czech Republic, Arabasz impressed from the minute he stepped onto the court for his freshman season and earns the second NEC Rookie of the Year award and Second Team All-NEC honors. Arabasz put together a record-setting year, becoming the program's single-season block leader with 74 total blocks and in the final weekend of the regular season, the middle blocker set Daemen's single-match hitting percentage record after hitting at a .857 clip against Merrimack on April 13. He is tied for first in the NEC with 0.93 blocks per set and ranks third on the team and kills (134) while leading the Wildcats with a .489 hitting percentage this season. Arabasz recorded multiple blocks in all but three matches this season, and was one of three players alongside Milligan and Schneider to play in all 24 matches, starting 23. He earned NEC Rookie of the Week three times this season.
Califf earns All-NEC honors for the second straight season, finishing his collegiate career out with Second Team all-conference honors. With total 690 assists on the year, Califf ranks third in the conference with 9.45 assists/set and sixth in the league with 1.77 digs per set, ranking second on the team with 129 digs. He also ranks third on the team with 40 total blocks this season. The fifth year ranks second in Daemen's record books for career assists with 1,469 total assists over two seasons, and owns the top two spots in the program's single-season assists record books with 779 assists in 2023 and 690 assists in 2024. Califf was named a Prime Performer four times in 2024.
The Wildcats head into the NEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed for the second consecutive season after finishing 9-3 in conference play and 18-6 overall. Daemen set a program-record for wins (18) with their 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart in the regular season finale. As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the Wildcats received a first-round bye and advance to the semifinals on Thursday at 4 PM. The NEC Tournament Championship will be on Saturday, April 20 at 4 PM.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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