Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 5, 2010) – When they were needed the most, the two cornerstones of the Vassar men's volleyball team came alive with near flawless performances. Behind the play of senior Phil Tully and junior Evan Fredericksen, both of whom had seven kills each in the deciding set, the No. 10 nationally ranked Brewers upset No. 7 ranked Stevens Institute of Technology 3-0 (30-25, 30-26, 30-27) Friday night at Kenyon Hall. 

Fredericksen earned his seven kills on 10 attempts without an error, a .700 hitting percentage. Tully recorded his seven kills on 14 swings with just two errors, a .357 attack percentage. The win improves the Brewers to 4-2, 2-0 in the NECVA Metro. Stevens drops to 5-2, 1-1 in the Metro. Both teams will travel to Stevens on Saturday and each will play Endicott College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Noon and 2:00 p.m. 

As expected, a match that was decided by a total of 12 points was tightly contested. Vassar saved its best set for last, hitting .356 with 20 kills on 45 attempts with only four errors. Throughout the match, the Brewers led in each set, but it was never comfortable. While the contest had very few ties or lead changes and the largest lead of seven points coming in Vassar's favor – 17-10 in the opening set – execution was paramount for both teams. 

“We executed our game plan tonight and Phil Tully showed excellent leadership and we rode him,” said Vassar head coach Antonia Sweet. “The people we needed to step up, really stepped up.”
Tully finished with 18 kills with three miscues on 38 attempts and Fredericksen had 16 kills with five errors on 36 attempts. That duo was aided by seven kills from freshman Matthew Elgin. Freshman John Konow had 46 of Vassar's 49 set assists and freshman Christian La Du set a personal best with 20 digs. 

Junior Bryant DeFranco had 11 kills for Stevens on 30 attempts with five errors, but he was the only player to reach double figures in kills. Junior Brandt Grobeis had 40 set assists and junior libero Aaron Ostrovsky had 13 digs for a Stevens team that had 52 for the match. 

In the third set, Vassar broke out to a 12-8 lead and pushed that margin to 19-13 following a kill by Elgin. Behind the play of junior SteFan PremDas, who had back-to-back kills, the Ducks got within 22-20 and a kill by junior Bryant DeFranco brought Stevens within 24-23, prompting Sweet to call a timeout. The set stayed within one point at 28-27, but a cross court kill from Vassar sophomore Lucas Rathjens put the Brewers ahead 29-27 and a Stevens attack error earned Vassar the 30-27 win. 

The second set, which was the best of the three for Stevens with a .316 hitting percentage, was only tied twice, at 11-11 and 16-16. The Brewers then went on a six point run, getting kills from Tully, Elgin and freshman Matthew Donohue, along with two Stevens miscues for a 22-16 lead. The Ducks would get two kills from senior Christopher Egebo and a big kill from junior Timothy Carl to draw within 24-23, but Fredericksen, Elgin and Tully provided the necessary kills down the stretch to keep Stevens at bay. DeFranco had back to back kills to draw Stevens within 29-26, but Rathjens closed out the set with a kill down the middle. 

The match opened with Vassar taking a commanding 17-10 lead, with Tully and Fredericksen having six and five kills in the opening set. With the Ducks only hitting .095 in the opening set and committing eight attack errors, it was difficult for Stevens to stay within five points, even despite four kills from DeFranco.