Carthage Box Score

Medaille Box Score

ROCHESTER, NY (February 13, 2009) -- The Vassar men's volleyball team won both of its matches in opening play at the Nazareth College Tournament on Friday. In the opener against Carthage, the Brewers secured a 3-1 (30-26, 28-30, 30-28, 30-24) victory and in the nightcap needed five sets to defeat Medaille 3-2 (31-29, 27-30, 30-24, 28-30, 15-9).

Vassar, now 6-3 on the season, will continue play at the Nazareth Tournament on Saturday, facing Eastern Mennonite at Noon and No. 3 UC Santa Cruz at 4:00 p.m. 

For the second straight year the Brewers faced Carthage, and for the second straight year the Brewers topped the Redmen, winning in four sets (30-26, 28-30, 30-28, 30-24). Ranked No. 6 in the AVCA/Bison Top 15 Poll, Vassar started the tournament strong with great offensive distribution, led by the heady play of senior setter John Kessenich (Chicago, IL/Richard Montgomery) who notched 57 assists over the course of four set victory.

Vassar and No. 11 ranked Carthage played played consistently through the first two sets, trading kills, digs, points, and eventually sets. Carthage responded to Vassar's first set win with a victory of its own in the second set. In the match, Vassar was led by the inspired play of junior Phil Tully (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) who had 10 kills and .533 hitting percentage. 

Tied 1-1, the Brewers won the next two sets, due in part to the offense of senior Steve Micucci (Millis, MA/Millis), sophomore Evan Fredrickson (Menlo Park, CA/Menlo Atherton) and the tenacious defense of senior libero Scott Leserman (Huntington Beach, CA/Mira Costa). Leserman, who set-up the multi-pronged Vassar attack with sure passing, recorded 19 digs.

Vassar grew stronger as the match progressed, finishing off the last two sets with convincing play. Despite a strong game by Carthage right-side Juri Veldre (West Allis, Wis.), the potent Vassar offense with a myriad of contributors simply proved too strong in the end.

In the second match against Medaille, the Brewers ousted the Mavericks in an exciting five set match, 31-29, 27-30, 30-24, 28-30, 15-9.

Freshman Cliff Quinn (Hamburg, NY/Frontier Central) started the match at setter and he set the tone early, establishing the middle attack with crisp, quick sets. As a result, Micucci started the first set quickly in the first set, registering five kills on six attempts, hitting an astounding .833. He finished the match with a .375 hitting percentage.

In the tightly contested match, the Brewers dug down in the fifth set. Vassar jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead and kept strong, winning 15-9. Fredrickson hit .750 with three kills in the final set.