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There wasn’t much doubt about who is currently the top team in the NEC thanks to outside attacker Zach Schneider.
Schneider finished with both a match-high four aces and 11 kills on a .348 attack percentage as Daemen swept Long Island 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 on Thursday in Amherst, New York.
In this match-up between the only two undefeated NEC teams, the Wildcats rallied from a 23-22 deficit in the opening game with Schneider having back-to-back aces that closed out the game. Schneider also had at least four kills in each of the final two games to help Daemen move into sole possession of first place in the NEC.
This was the sixth time in conference play that Schneider had double-digit kills. In addition, the outside attacker now has double-digit kills in all but three matches for Daemen (11-1, 6-0 NEC) during its 10-match winning streak.
Along with the offensive performance, Scheider led Daemen defensively with nine digs against Long Island (8-8, 3-1 NEC).
Setter Sean Califf had 31 assists and guided the offense to out-hit Long Island .243 to .103.
Four Wildcats had more than five kills in the home victory, including middle attacker Jake Couzens who had seven kills and zero errors on a .700 attack percentage. Cameron Milligan contributed 11 kills, while Kyle Zelasko had eight kills.
Daemen out-blocked Long Island 12 to 9 highlighted with middle attacker Henry Moffitt having a match-high six blocks and Zelasko adding four blocks.
Long Island in the loss was held to a negative attack percentage in the opening game and only hit better than .150 in the third set.
Arthur Sueur and Livan Moreno each had a team-high eight kills. Sueur finished with a .500 attack percentage but was the only Long Island starter to have more than three attempts and hit more than .200.