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Cameron Milligan came through in the biggest moments of the match to put Daemen into sole possession of first place in NEC.
Milligan fought off match-point with a kill during fourth-game comeback and then had a game-high six kills in the fifth game as Daemen defeated Long Island 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 26-24, 15-10 on Friday in Amherst, New York.
The pin-hitter had four of their fifth-game kills along with a block as part of a 6-0 run midway through the decisive game to give the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish. In addition, Milligan’s kill late in the fourth game helped Daemen overcome a 24-21 deficit with five consecutive points to survive three Long Island match-point opportunities and win in overtime.
Milligan finished with a team-high 17 kills on a .325 attack in a match-up between two teams that entered tied for first place in the NEC.
Daemen (14-4, 8-1 NEC) in the victory out-hit Long Island .296 to .247, including having a match-best .444 attack percentage in the decisive game. The Wildcats also had four players end with double-digit kills.
Jake Couzens and Zach Schneider each contributed 12 kills and each had a kill with Daemen facing a match-point in the fourth game. Couzens hit a match-best .556 and did not commit an attack error in the final three games.
Middle attacker Henry Moffitt contributed 14 kills and one error on a .464 attack percentage against Long Island (13-9, 7-2 NEC).
Moffitt defensively led all players with five blocks highlighted with a game-winning block in the fourth-game overtime.
Outside attacker Luke Chandler in the loss led all players with 23 kills, while Livan Moreno added 20 kills.
Long Island with this loss drops into a tie for second place in the NEC with Saint Francis. Daemen now has a one-match lead atop the conference standings with five remaining NEC regular season matches.
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