Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW YORK, NY (February 23, 2013) – The No. 14 nationally ranked Vassar College men's volleyball team had a long day on the courts at the Fourth Annual Baruch Invitational on Saturday and five hours of competition resulted in a 3-1 victory over Kean and a tough 3-2 loss against No. 9 Baruch.

The split left No. 14 Vassar 7-5 on the season. Vassar defeated Kean 25-21, 23-25, 31-29, 25-23 and fell to Baruch 23-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-22, 8-15. Play continues on Sunday with the Brewers facing Rivier at Noon and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 2:00 p.m.

Baruch came down to the fifth set. Tied at 4-4, the Bearcats took a 9-4 led with Martin Joksimovlk serving. Back to kills from senior Matt Elgin and one from freshman Reno Kriz got Vassar within 11-8, but a Baruch kill from Jack McKee, combined with two Brewer attack errors, enabled the hosts to take the match 15-8. The Bearcats hit an impressive .518 in the set (8-1-13).

The teams split the first two sets, each defeating the other 25-23. Baruch led the entire way, building an 18-11 lead at one juncture, but Vassar clawed back into the set, coming within 24-23 after a kill from junior Joe Pyne. Baurch notched the win 25-23 off a kill from McKee.

The second set was tied 20-20 after a Kriz kill. Successive kills from Kriz, Pyne and senior Patrick Donohue got Vasasr to 24-22 until a Baruch serving error tied the match 1-1.

The third set was tied 7-7 before Baruch went on a run that would escalate into a 20-12 lead and cruised to the 25-13 win. The Brewers had their toughest attack set of the match, hitting  -.143. Baruch had a strong effort, hitting .500 (13-2-22).

The Brewers positioned themselves for the fifth set by winning the fourth 25-22 in an effort that resembled the second set win. Down the stretch, kills by Elgin, Kriz and senior John Konow enabled the Brewers to force only their second fifth set of the season, the first coming in a 3-2 win over Stevenson in the season opener.

Kriz had a career high 18 kills on 45 attack attempts. Elgin had 12 kills. Konow earned 45 set assists and senior Christian La Du chalked up another 13 digs in his record-breaking career.

The Brewers opened with a 2:30 hour marathon against Kean, resulting in a 25-21, 23-25, 31-29, 25-23 victory. In the win, senior Charlie Caldwell had 13 kills, Kriz and Elgin 12 each. Konow earned 45 set assists.