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The NCAA Tournament is officially here with the play-in match today.
Check out the top 20 players to know for this play-in match between Penn State and Daemen.
Ondrej Arabasz, Daemen middle attacker
Conference accolades: First-Team All-NEC
Arabasz is hitting .335 this season and had nine kills on a season-high .692 attack percentage in non-conference victory against Concordia in January. The sophomore from Czechia also has a career-high 23 aces.
Jake Basinski, Daemen outside attacker
Basinski coming off the bench as a serving specialist had an ace in Daemen’s victory against Saint Francis in the NEC Tournament finals.
Johnaustin Bly, Daemen outside attacker
Bly has primarily come off the bench as a serving specialist this season. The outside attacker has seven aces, including an ace to help Daemen beat Long Island in the NEC Tournament semifinals.
Matt Cosgrove, Penn State outside attacker
Cosgrove has come off the bench primarily as a serving specialist the last month of the season. In addition, Cosgrove has not committed more than two service errors in a match since early March.
Carter Dittman, Penn State outside attacker
Dittman after appearing in one match during the first two months of the season has appeared in the last seven matches. The sophomore also had a season-high four blocks as Penn State swept NJIT in the EIVA Tournament semifinals.
Gaige Gabriel, Penn State middle attacker
Conference accolades: All-EIVA Honorable Mention
Gabriel had eight kills and zero errors on a .667 attack percentage as Penn State swept Princeton in the EIVA Tournament finals. The middle attacker also is in the top 10 of the EIVA with a 0.94 blocks per game average.
Jariel Giraud, Daemen setter
Conference accolades: First-Team All-NEC
Giraud was sidelined for almost a month of the season but returned to help guide the Daemen offense to a .250 attack percentage. The setter also had a combined 22 digs in the NEC Tournament, including a season-high 15 digs against Long Island in the NEC Tournament semifinals.
Sean Harvey, Penn State outside attacker
Harvey had double-digit kills in four of the final seven regular season matches, including 10 kills and zero errors on a .769 attack percentage in the regular season finale against Princeton. The sophomore also came off the bench in the EIVA Tournament as a blocking specialist.
Will Kuhns, Penn State outside attacker
Conference accolades: First-Team All-EIVA
Kuhns is in the top five of the EIVA averaging both 3.19 kills per game and 0.32 aces per game. The graduate pin-hitter also had a team-high 13 kills on a .450 attack percentage in a regular season loss to No. 2 Hawai’i.
Matthew Luoma, Penn State opposite
Conference accolades: All-EIVA Honorable Mention
Luoma leads Penn State and is in the top five of the EIVA with a 3.22 kills per game average. The opposite also had a match-high 18 kills to help Penn State sweep Princeton in the EIVA Tournament finals.
Maverick O’Neil, Daemen middle attacker
Conference accolades: Second-Team All-NEC
O’Neil is second in the NEC with a 0.93 blocks per game average, including having a match-high seven blocks against Saint Francis in the NEC Tournament finals. The middle attacker also had a season-high 10 blocks in a regular-season victory against Long Island.
Ryan Merk. Penn State libero
Conference accolades: First-Team All-EIVA
Merk is third in the EIVA with a 1.93 digs per game average, including having a team-high 12 digs in a sweep against Princeton in the EIVA Tournament finals. The libero also was the 2023 Steve Shondell Award winner as the nation’s top passer.
Patrick Mullen, Daemen opposite
Mullen has double-digit kills in seven of Daemen’s last eight matches. In addition, Mullen had a combined 24 kills in the Wildcats’ two NEC Tournament victories.
Owen Rose, Penn State middle attacker
Conference accolades: Second-Team All-EIVA
Rose is second in the EIVA and in the nation’s top 15 with a 1.05 blocks per game average. In addition, Rose has a .380 attack percentage and has hit more than .500 in three of the last four matches.
Zach Schneider, Daemen outside attacker
Conference accolades: First-Team All-NEC
Schneider is in the nation’s top 20 with a 3.80 kills per game average and had at least 15 kills in 10 matches. The three-time All-NEC graduate student also had 12 kills and a season-high 13 digs against Saint Francis in the NEC Tournament finals.
Michael Schwob, Penn State setter
Schwob is in the top 10 of the EIVA with a 0.32 aces per game average and had a match-high three aces in the EIVA finals. The setter has guided the Nittany Lions offense to a .239 attack percentage and is fourth in the EIVA averaging 9.25 assists per game.
Miller Trubey, Penn State opposite
Trubey had double-digit kills and hit at least .300 in two of the last three regular season matches. The transfer from Loyola also came off the bench as a serving specialist in the EIVA Tournament.
Billy Wieberg, Daemen outside attacker
Conference accolades: Second-Team All-NEC
Wieberg is in the top 10 of the NEC averaging both 2.80 kills per game and 0.34 aces per game. The outside attacker also had a team-high 15 kills on a .400 attack percentage as Daemen defeated Saint Francis in four games in the NEC Tournament finals.
Bradyn Winters, Daemen setter
Winters as the team’s backup setter had a 8.27 assists per game average. The sophomore was inserted into the starting lineup in February and helped lead the Wildcats to five consecutive wins
Kyle Zelasko, Daemen libero
Conference accolades: Second-Team All-NEC
Zelasko is second in the NEC with a 1.97 digs per game average, including having 10 digs in the NEC Tournament finals. The libero also is second on the team with 415 receptions this season and has a 96.1 percent successful passing rating.
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