Box Score

NEW PALTZ, NY (January 27, 2010) –During the course of the 2010 season, the Vassar College men's volleyball team will meet its counterparts from SUNY New Paltz three times. If Wednesday evening's epic 3-2 Vassar victory, one that saw the Brewers drop the fourth set 46-44, is any indication of what lies ahead in the February and March matches, this long-standing rivalry will widely be regarded as one of the finest in Division III volleyball. After 168 kills and 375 attack attempts in a match that was headed toward three hours, the Brewers prevailed 30-26, 30-28, 22-30, 44-46, 15-8. 

In a match that boasted such memorable play and an epic fourth set, six players – three from each team – did all the offensive work. Vassar was led in kills from senior AVCA All-America Phil Tully with 27, followed by junior Evan Fredericksen with 21 and freshman Matthew Elgin with 18. New Paltz had its own trio of stalwarts, getting 27 kills from senior Jake Moore, 20 from sophomore Kevin Stross and 17 from senior Daniel Liberto. 

With the victory, the No. 9 nationally ranked Brewers improve to 2-1 on the season and will play at Polytechnic University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. New Paltz drops to 2-4 and will host New Jersey City University on Friday evening. 

The Brewers played a flawless fifth set to win the match, earning eight kills on 12 attack attempts without a single error. Fredericksen keyed the win with four six on six attempts, with freshman John Konow dishing out seven of his career-high 66 set assists. Down 4-2, the Brewers mounted an impressive comeback, took a comfortable 10-5 lead and fended off the Hawks who made a late push. The match was appropriately won off a Tully kill from a Konow feed.

Getting to the deciding fifth set, however, was a story in itself. 

Ninety points were scored in the fourth set. The teams combined for 51 kills and 131 attack attempts. The respective defenses combined for 53 digs. Statistical numbers usually compiled for an entire match, not a single set. Not unlike the opening two sets, the fourth set was extremely tight and balanced. It would ultimately have 22 ties and subsequent lead changes and heavy drama. Vassar held the largest lead of the set at 16-12, following a kill by Fredericksen, and the Brewers appeared headed for victory when a New Paltz service error gave Vassar a 27-25 lead. New Paltz tied the match at 27-27 and actually was serving for the match, up 29-28, when a perfectly executed Vassar timeout resulted in a New Paltz service error and a 29-29 tie. From that point, the match went back and forth tied 15 times, with each team serving for a victory that was elusive due to clutch kills from Vassar's Tully (who had 12 of his team's 23) and Moore (who had 13 of his team's 28). At 44-44, New Paltz got kills from Stross and Liberto for an exhausting 46-44 win, setting up more match drama in a fifth set. 

Behind the trio of Tully, Fredericksen and Elgin, the Brewers took the first two sets in narrow fashion, 30-26 and 30-28. Vassar was buoyed by exceptional hitting percentages in both sets, attacking at a .500 clip in the opener and .375 in the second set. The first set was tied six times, the last time at 22-22. With freshman Patrick Donohue serving, the Brewers won four straight points for a 26-23 lead and closed out the set with kills by Elgin and Tully. If at all possible, the second set was tighter down the stretch, although New Paltz led the entire set, squandering a 27-22 lead. Down 8-2 early, Vassar trailed the entire set, but started its miraculous comeback when a Tully kill cut the New Paltz lead to 27-23. Behind the serving of Elgin, Vassar won five straight points to come within 28-27. Back-to-back kills by Tully put Vassar ahead 29-28 with Fredericksen's fifth kill of the set the winning point. 

New Paltz rebounded in the third set, trailing only once at 2-1 and put together a strong effort in hitting .368 to win 30-22. The Hawks' Liberto had a particularly strong third set with six kills, but his efforts were equaled by Elgin who also had six kills. The Brewers made six attack errors and outside of the massive fourth set had their worst attack percentage (.220), which allowed New Paltz to take the upper hand and break away from its slight 11-10 lead for the win.