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For the second straight year, the NEC Men's Volleyball Championship, presented by First Point Volleyball Foundation, are being hosted by Saint Francis U in Loretto, PA. In Thursday's semifinals, No. 2 Daemen swept No. 4 FDU, 3-0, to advance to Saturday's championship match. No. 1 Saint Francis U held serve as the tournament host and defeated No. 6 Sacred Heart in straight sets. ESPN+ and NEC Front Row will carry the final at 4 pm on Saturday. Austin Rooney and Ben Kasun are on the call.

Semifinals
#2 Daemen 3, #4 FDU 0
(25-23, 25-21, 25-13)
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Loretto, PA – Led by All-NEC first team outside hitter Zach Schneider, second-seeded Daemen swept fourth-seeded FDU in straight sets on Thursday night in semifinal action to advance to the conference tournament's title game for the first time since the inaugural season of NEC Men's Volleyball in 2023.
 
In the first set, Daemen and FDU went blow-for-blow. The Wildcats ultimately came out on top courtesy of a kill  by Schneider to close out the first set by a score of 25-23.
 
To start the second set, the teams again traded leads with neither gaining the upper hand. That all changed when Daemen closed out the set on a 4-1 run to earn the 25-21 win. All-NEC first team opposite Cameron Milligan recorded five of his nine kills during that stretch.
 
Daemen took control in the third — and what proved to be the final — set. Outscoring FDU by a 12-6 marign before the first media timeout behind five kills from Schneider, the Wildcats never looked back and went on to take the third set, 25-13.
 
Overall, Schneider led all Wildcats with 10 kills, while Jamal Ellis Carballo and Ethan Young each tallied 10 kills for FDU. Sean Califf had 32 assists for Daemen and Jose Angarita finished with 32 dimes for FDU. The Wildcats held a commanding 14-6 advantage in blocks over their counterparts.

Semifinals
#1 Saint Francis U 3, #6 Sacred Heart 0
(25-22, 25-19, 25-22)
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Loretto, PA – Top-seeded Saint Francis U held serve and defeated sixth-seeded Sacred Heart, 3-0, in Thursday’s second semifinal match. The Red Flash got a big-time performance from NEC Player of the Year Nathan Zini, who finished with a match-high 16 kills to propel the home team and regular season champs into Championship Saturday for the second time in as many years.
 
Saint Francis U jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set and never relinquished that advantage for the rest of the way. Zini recorded seven of his 16 kills in the first set alone, leading the Red Flash to a 25-22 victory.
 
In the second set, Saint Francis U continued its offensive dominance by delivering four service aces and 13 kills as a team. All-NEC first team setter Ryan Parker recorded his second kill of the night to clinch set number two for the Red Flash by a score of 25-19.
 
The third set featured a seesaw battle between the Pioneers and the Red Flash. Sacred Heart’s All-NEC first team opposite Patrick Mucherino tallied six of his 10 kills in the third set to help the Pioneers build a to 13-12 lead. But that cushion wasn't enough for Sacred Heart, as Saint Francis U battled back and ultimately clinched the match with 25-22 final in set three.
 
Overall, Saint Francis U finished with 39 kills to Sacred Heart's  26. Ryan Parker had 32 assists for the Red Flash and Teddy Payne recorded 21 for the Pioneers.