Nazareth Box Score
Lasell Box Score
Tournament Page

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 19, 2011) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team saw its bid to win four straight VC Invitational Championships halted by No. 1 nationally ranked Nazareth on Saturday, but the Brewers bounced back to win their second match 3-1 over Lasell College and finish the two-day event at 2-1.

Pitted against the team ranked tops in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the Brewers team put up a ferocious fight, but came up short against No. 1 nationally ranked Nazareth College, losing 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-21). The Brewers rebounded nicely in the second match, defeating Lasell 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20) following a wild fourth set to finish the tournament at 2-1.

The All-VC Invitational team featured Vassar senior hitter Evan Fredicksen, Billy Gimello, Nazareth (MVP), Ellis Walsh, Nazareth, Spencer Parker, Lasell College and Shawn Kennedy, Johnson & Wales.

The Brewers move to 10-7 on the season and will next meet Hunter College at home on Tuesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. The Golden Flyers, who went undefeated throughout the tournament, improve to 14-3 overall and will return home to face Hilbert on Tuesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. Lasell moves to 10-7 and will return home to face Rivier and Daniel Webster on Monday, February 21 starting at 6:00 p.m.

Nazareth 3, Vassar 0
(26-24, 25-22, 25-21)

Against Nazareth, the Brewers started strong in the first set, breaking a 2-2 tie and never trailing until the Golden Flyers—who had kept it close throughout—tied the set again at 17-17. The two sides then traded points back in forth, with five total ties, with the fifth setting up a score of 24-24. Nazareth managed to score the final two points with the set on the line however, and claimed their first victory.

Vassar fell into an early hole in the second set, trailing by as many as five points, and couldn't recover as they never led en route to Nazareth's 25-22 victory. Despite the slow start, the Brewers came roaring back to life and came within one point of the Golden Flyers three times late within the match. The first was at 18-19 following a second ace in the set by Fredericksen. The Brewers closed at 21-22 following a tremendous block by freshman hitter Joe Pyne and finally at 22-23 following a kill by sophomore setter John Konow, who notched a match high 32 assists. Once again, however, the Golden Flyers managed to score the final two points to move ahead of Vassar 2-0 in the match.

The Golden Flyers came out red hot in the third set, leading the Brewers by as many as seven points as they looked to close out the match. The Brewers would not go quietly however and, down 13-20, would rip off 4 straight points, making a 7-1 run overall keyed largely by the play of Frederickson, who had a match high 16 kills. Despite closing to within 2 at 19-21, the Golden Flyers once again finished strong, claiming the third set—and the match—with a 25-21 victory.

For the Brewers, sophomore hitter Charles Caldwell also managed 9 kills on just 16 attempts, good for a team-high .438 hitting percentage. The Golden Flyers were led by senior hitter Hans Schroeder, who 11 kills in 20 attempts, and by senior hitter Ellis Walsh and junior hitter Billy Gimello who tallied 10 kills each. Sophomore setter EJ Wells-Spicer led Nazareth with 31 assists.

Vassar 3, Lasell 1
(25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20)

Tthe Brewers started off slow against the Lasers, keeping the score close throughout the first set and tying Lasell on ten separate occasions before taking the lead for good at 21-20 following a block by sophomore hitter Matthew Elgin. Lasell would strike back, but not before a kill by Fredericksen ended it at 25-22. Fredericksen managed a match high 26 kills, which ties his previous career high, and lead the Brewers throughout the day.

The second set got off to another start that saw both ties battling hard and trading points and leads back and forth, but a run of seven straight points by the Lasers, which ended with Lasell ahead 11-9, proved to be the difference. With Lasell needing just a single point to put the set away, and the Brewers trailing by six, Vassar went on a furious comeback attempt, getting as close as 22-25 before Lasell finally broke through and tied the match.

In the pivotal third set, Vassar came out hot, and never trailed as it raced out to a 18-9 lead. Needing the win to tip the scaled in their favor, the Brewers dialed up the pressure and were never truly threatened as they cruised to a convincing 25-15 victory in the set to take the match lead they would refuse to surrender.

Lasell wasn't ready to surrender either, however, and for most of the fourth set things seemed to be going their way. Vassar may have scored the first point, but ended up playing catch-up for most of the set, tying Lasell ten times before taking the lead for the first time since 1-0 — and for good — at 19-18. Vassar then reeled off five straight points to push Lasell to the brink, before Elgin's kill—one of his 12, which was second best on the team—ended the match-clinching set with the score 25-20 in favor of the Brewers.

Konow once again led all players with 51 assists, while freshman setter Andrew Glenn led Lasell with 37. Elgin's .550 hitting percentage was a match high, finishing ahead of Fredericksen, who finished with a .500