NEWBURY BOX

SPRINGFIELD BOX

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 31, 2012) – You couldn't ask for more exciting finish to a great weekend of volleyball, with the championship match going a thrilling five sets, Vassar narrowly avoiding upsetting #3 Springfield College by the scores of 21-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-27, 15-10. The Brewers finished the tournament 3-1, having beaten Newbury 3-1 earlier in the day.

Vassar is now 18-9 and will host Mt. St. Vincent in their final home match of the year. Seniors Lucas Rathjens and Cliff Quinn will be honored on Wednesday, April 4 starting at 7:00 pm in Kenyon Gymnasium.

In what became the championship match, #3 Springfield College Pride and upset-minded Vassar (#10)both coming in 3-0 for the tournament, the Brewers came out on fire. The first set was highly competitive, featuring eight lead changes and 15 ties. The two offenses were remarkably similar, Springfield putting down 12 kills and hitting .250, while Vassar matched the kills but held a slight edge in percentage with .273. The set was strictly a back-and-forth affair, neither team able to build more than a three point lead until Vassar broke an 18-18 tie with a five point run, four of the points coming on Brewer kills, two from sophomore outside hitter Joe Pyne.  The Pride would cut into the lead to get to 20-23, but a Springfield service error and another kill from Pyne - his fifth - sealed the first set win 25-21.  Vassar was also sparked by 15 digs and three blocks.

The loss would bring out the best in the Pride, where they would rack up 37 kills on the way to a .580 hitting percentage in the next two sets, and holding Vassar to only 28 total points, winning 25-15 and 25-13 to take a two-sets-to-one lead. Greg Falcone of Springfield was particularly dominant with nine kills and a .438 hitting percentage for the two frames.

The fourth set began much like the first, the teams trading points and neither able to lead by more than one until Springfield stretched it to three at 9-6. Vassar kept that lead from growing, fighting to stay in the set and match, and then cutting it to one at 13-14, forcing a Pride time-out. The teams would then trade side-outs until Matt Elgin crushed a Springfield for the first tie since 5-5, when a Pride ball handling error gave the Brewers their first lead at 17-16, leading to another Pride time-out, their last. More back and forth would get the set to 21-21, when a Patrick Donohue and Lucas Rathjens combined for a block to put the Vassar back up 22-21. Two Springfield kills and a service error would tie it again at 23-23, before a Pyne kill would give the Brewers their first set point. A Falcone kill would keep the Pride alive but another Pyne kill followed by an Elgin block would force the match to a fifth set, Vassar taking a thrilling fourth 27-25. Vassar stayed alive on the strength of 17 digs, and Donohue came up big with three kills, no errors and a block.

The fifth would prove somewhat anti-climactic as Vassar was unable to contain the powerful Springfield offense, which had eight kills, no errors and hit .471. They never trailed in the set and would eventually win the match with a 15-10 win, finishing the tournament as champions at 4-0. Pyne led Brewers with 15 kills, two aces and 11 digs, and was named to the All-Tournament team. John Konow had 37 assists and Christian La Du led Vassar again on defense with 13 digs. Tournament MVP Falcone led the Pride with 16 kills and eight blocks.

The Brewers started the day against the Nighthawks of Newbury College, and quickly regained the momentum that had taken them to 2-0 in the tournament thus far. After exchanging side-outs through the first six points of the first set, Vassar began to stretch its lead with efficient offense and stingy defense, being up 15-10 and 20-13 before closing the set 25-17.  Junior middle blocker Matt Elgin had five kills and a block in the opener.  The Brewers would rack up 14 kills – with only two errors – to outhit the visitors .375 to .059, while also picking up 14 digs.

This gap would grow in the second set, Vassar improving to .417 and pushing Newbury even lower to .050. The leads would also increase, the hosts being up as many as twelve before taking a 2-0 set advantage with a 25-15 win. Senior Lucas Rathjens led for the Brewers with four kills and a block.

The third set was a different story altogether. Vassar jumped to a 3-0 lead, giving every indication of continuing the dominant trend, but six straight Newbury points gave the visitors the confidence they needed, and they would never relinquish their lead. Vassar would close within one late, at 23-24, but a service error sealed the 25-23 win for Newbury. The Brewers made seven attack errors in the set, more than the first two sets combined, and the Nighthawk offense got its match best 14 kills. Vassar did have three blocks and three aces in the loss.

The loss seemed to energize the home team, Vassar coming out aggressive to take a fast 5-1 lead. Newbury would battle back at first, but the Brewers desire for payback was too strong, and they dominated the set, holding the Nighthawks to only three kills and a negative hitting percentage on the way to a 25-8 stomping to win the match 3-1. Vassar went on scoring runs of ten and six points, and added four service aces to their 14 kills.

Elgin posted a match high 11 kills and Charlie Caldwell went six for twelve without an error to hit .500. Patrick Donohue continued his defensive dominance at the net with four blocks while Christian La Du took care of the floor defense with a match-high nine digs. Joe Pyne produced a strong all-around performance with nine kills, three aces, three blocks (leading all players with 14 points) and eight digs.