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Outside attacker Zach Schneider stepped up in the biggest moment to give Daemen one of its biggest wins in program history.
Schneider with the decisive fifth game tied 12-12 had a kill and then went behind the service line for two consecutive points to close out the match as Daemen upset Princeton 25-16, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 15-12 on Sunday.
This road non-conference match was the Wildcats’ first victory against an EIVA school in their program’s four-year history. It also is the first time Daemen has defeated a team receiving votes in the national coaches poll.
Schneider finished with both a team-high 19 kills and four aces against Princeton. In addition, the two-time All-Independent Team selection had a game-high four kills and zero attack errors in the decisive fifth game.
Daemen opened the match hitting .538 in the first game and ended the match out-hitting Princeton .292 to .270.
Along with Schneider, middle attacker Jake Couzens had 10 kills on a team-best .600 attack percentage. Middle attacker Henry Moffitt and opposite Cameron Milligan each added nine kills with Moffitt hitting .467.
The home-opener loss for Princeton comes after the team defeated UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday to close out a West Coast road trip.
Princeton had two players end with double-digit kills against Daemen.
Outside attacker Ben Harrington had a team-high 15 kills and led all players with five aces. Opposite James Hartley added 10 kills and zero errors on a .667 attack percentage.
Daemen with this victory has now won 14 of its last 15 matches dating back to 2020. The Wildcats played an abbreviated schedule last year because of the coronavirus pandemic but finished 2021 as the only undefeated team in the nation.