POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 30, 2014) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team, coming off a near upset of No. 4 New Paltz on Wednesday, will host Elms College and Ramapo College for a tri-match Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Kenyon Hall. The Brewers have fallen in both of their matches this year, but both were against ranked teams, as they opened the year with a four-game loss to No. 5 Baruch College.

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Elms College (2-3/0-0 NECC)          
(Elms Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Kenyon Hall (500)
Date: February 1, 2014
Time: 1 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Ramapo College (2-2/0-0 Skyline)               
(Ramapo Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Kenyon Hall (500)
Date: February 1, 2014
Time: 5 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

What To Look For
Vassar College finishes its four-game home stand Saturday, before heading out on the road next week for a big United Volleyball Conference crossover at MIT. The Brewers will play five of their next six matches away from Kenyon Hall, so the tri-match with Elms and Ramapo presents an important opportunity to get back to .500 before a tough stretch. Vassar is in a part of the schedule where five of its first eight matches are against AVCA Top 25 teams, not an easy task at all. Ramapo and Elms are both not currently ranked, but will both be tough tests for the Brewers.

A Look At The Blazers (2-3, 0-0 NECC)
Elms is currently 2-3 on the year, having started the season with a split at a tri-match with Cazenovia and D'Youville. The Blazers knocked off Cazenovia in three sets, before falling to D'Youville in four sets. Since then, Elms knocked off Mount Ida in five games, dropping its last two outings to Hilbert and Bard. Offense doesn't seem to be a problem for the Blazers, as they are averaging nearly 10 and a half kills per set. EC is also hitting at a .209 hitting percentage on the year. The back row defense has registered just 4.84 digs per game, which is almost three less per game then its opposition. Also, teams have chalked up 34 aces on the Blazers.

Individually, Elms is led by senior outside hitter Bryson Rainey, who comes into the matches on Saturday with 82 kills, averaging 4.32 terminations per set. Rainey is swinging at a .383 clip right now, committing just 20 errors on 162 attempts. Rainey leads the team in ace as well, and is second in digs with 18. Fellow senior outside Kordel Latimer is second on the team with 49 kills, and leads the Blazers with 19 digs and 11 total blocks. Junior middle hitter Angel Castro posts three kills per set on average, and is third on the squad with 16 digs. Kevin Welsh runs the offense, chalking up all but 10 of the team's 177 total assists.

Potential Starting Lineup: MH - Angel Castro, OH - Bryson Rainey, S - Kevin Welsh, OH - Kordel Latimer, OH - Ian Isgut, MH - Austin DeCosmo, L - Roger Conklin

Against Elms All-Time
The Brewers are 3-0 all-time against the Blazers, earning straight set victories in each of the last two meetings. The series started in 2009, with the Brewers earning a hard-fought five set victory. Last year, VC posted the three-set win with scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-23.

Previous Box Scores: (Mar. 2, 2013)  -  (Feb. 20, 2010) – (Feb. 21, 2009)

A Look at the Roadrunners (2-2, 0-0 Skyline)
Ramapo hosted four teams last weekend for the Roadrunner Invitational, splitting its four matches. The Roadrunners defeated City College of New York and Brooklyn College in three games, but fell to Stevenson University in five sets and New Paltz in three games. Ramapo was slated to finish second within the Skyline Conference in the preseason poll, picking up two first-place votes. The Roadrunners finished the 2013 season 20-12 overall and 11-3 in the Skyline conference standings. Ramapo earned the No. 3 seed in the Skyline Tournament before falling to No. 2 Sage. The Roadrunners then earned their 9th ECAC Tournament bid as they were awarded the No. 2 seed.  Ramapo defeated No. 4 York (NY), 3-1, before falling to host No. 1 Stevenson in the title match.

The Roadrunners have gotten production from a variety of players, as six different hitters are in double-digit kills. Ahjon Petty leads the team with 39 kills, averaging 3.55 per set, while adding seven assisted blocks and five aces. 2013 Skyline Conference first-teamer Chris Sidnam has chalked up 31 terminations in just 44 attempts, posting a huge .636 hitting percentage. He also leads the team with 15 blocks. Brian Collabella, Ryan Casci, Mike Kane and Nick Hrehovcik all have added 12 or more kills for RC, which is hitting at nearly a .300 clip. Kurt McDonald leads the team with 24 digs, and Andrew Balint has handed out 100 assists.

Potential Starting Lineup: MB - Ahjon Petty, MB - Chris Sidnam, OH - Brian Collabella, MB - Mike Kane, OH - Nick Hrehovcik, S - Andrew Balint, L - Kurt MacDonald.

Against Ramapo All-Time
Vassar has battled the Roadrunners 19 previous times, holding a 15-4 series lead. After taking a year off in 2013, the teams renew pleasantries after playing in each of the previous nine seasons. In 2012, RC knocked off the Brewers 3-1, though Vassar won five of the preceding six matches.

Previous Box Scores: (Jan. 21, 2012) – (Jan. 22, 2011) – (Feb. 27, 2010) – (Apr. 4, 2009)

Kills on Kills
Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) is currently ranked fourth in the conference averaging 3.78 kills per set, while Joe Pyne (Los Angeles, CA/Oakwood Secondary) is ranked ninth, with 3.33 kills per set.

Let Me Assist You
Junior setter, Colin White-Dzuro (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Royal St. George), is currently ranked fifth in the league in assists, averaging 9.22 assists per set.

Stiff Competition
The Vassar men's volleyball team is in a competitive league, with seven out of the 12 teams being ranked in the AVCA top 25. They are staying up with the top squads in the league, taking the fourth best team in the country, New Paltz, to five sets.

Solid Outing
Joe Pyne, hit a very strong .345 against No. 4 New Paltz.

An All-Around Player
Freshman Christian Lizana (Dublin, PA/Pennridge), who came into Vassar as a libero, is stepping up to be a force in the front row. He consistently draws blocks for outside hitters, Joe Pyne and Colin Fearn-Johnson (Honolulu, HI/Punahou). He also tallied six kills of his own in the last match against New Paltz.

In the Middle
Middle hitter Erik Halberg (Newark, DE/Salesianum School) has moved to a middle hitter role this season, chalking up nine kills this season along with five rejections.

Dig Man
The Brewers have gotten double digit digs from Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) in both matches this season. CImorelli is the first player to post 10 or more digs in the first two matches since Christian La Du in 2011, and first freshman to accomplish the feat in over 20 years.

Tough "D"
The Vassar men's volleyball team had an incredible defensive performance against New Paltz, with fantastic plays being made by all members of the team. Their hustle and all out effort is what keeps this team in it during tough matches.

Up Next
The Vassar men's volleyball team will have a big UVC weekend in Boston, MA, playing Nazareth College (1-0) and D'Youville College (2-3) on Saturday February 8^th and Elmira College (3-1) on Sunday February 9^th.