PRINCETON, NJ-  The Daemen men's volleyball team earned arguably the biggest win in program history today, knocking off the Princeton Tigers in a five-set thriller (25-16, 25-21, 18-15, 18-25, 15-12) at Dillon Gymnasium. The Wildcats powered down 57 kills and 10 service aces while picking up the program's first-ever victory against an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) member. 

Daemen, playing its third match in as many days, is off to a promising start to the young season, improving to 2-1 with today's win. The Wildcats have won 14 of their last 15 matches dating back to the 2020 season, and today's victory was the program's fourth against an NCAA Division I member. All three prior Division I wins came against St. Francis Brooklyn.

Princeton, which is three seasons removed from its last EIVA championship (2019), dropped to 1-4 on the season. The Tigers were making their 2022 home debut. It marked the Tigers' first match at Dillon Gymnasium since March 6, 2020. The Tigers did not compete during the 2021 season, opting out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scoring in the first set was neck-and-neck until a kill by junior outside hitter Zach Schneider (Lockport, N.Y.) sparked a six-point run by Daemen, bringing the score to 20-15. Another five-point run secured the first set for the Wildcats. The Wildcats hammered 16 kills on a .538 hitting percentage in the frame.

The second frame played out similarly to the first, with neither team going on a run until Daemen scored six in a row to take a 24-20 lead. A kill from senior middle hitter Henry Moffitt (Sydney, Australia) would secure the second set for Daemen.

Daemen dropped the next two frames as Princeton battled back and forced a fifth and final frame. The fifth set went down to the wire, with a score of 12-12 before Daemen scored the final three points to secure the victory. Junior outside hitter Ryan Parker (Fairport, N.Y.) scored the final point of the match. 

The Wildcats led the match in kills (57-52), aces (10-9), and assists (54-50).

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Schneider posted a match-high 19 kills and added four service aces to pace the Wildcats. He's averaging a team-high 4.10 kills per set this season. 
• Junior middle hitter Jake Couzens (Hamburg, N.Y.) tossed in a season-high 10 kills. 
• Grad student Robert Patzer (Liverpool, N.Y.) once again handled setting duties and recorded a double-double, finishing with 43 assists and 10 digs to go with three blocks. His 43 assists are a new career-high, one better than the 42 he notched in yesterday's five-set loss to Sacred Heart. 
• Moffitt (nine kills), Parker (eight kills) and Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) (nine kills) all contributed to the Daemen win.
• Ben Harrington notched 15 kills to pace Princeton. 

• Daemen competes as an independent member of NCAA Division I-II. Today's match was the second of 19 regular season contests on the Wildcat's 2022 schedule - eight of which are against NCAA Division I opponents.
  The Wildcats return 12 players from their 2021 team that finished 10-0, including their top hitter (Zach Schneider), top setter (Michael Krueger), top back row defender (Ryan Parker) and top net defender (Jake Couzens). 

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to action next Saturday, January 29 with home matches against St. Francis Brooklyn (10:30 a.m.) and LIU (12:30 p.m.) as part of the Battle For New York, a four-team event co-hosted with D'Youville.