POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 30, 2014) – The Vassar College women's volleyball team hits the road this weekend for four crucial Liberty League matches. The Brewers take on Skidmore College and Clarkson University on Friday evening in Potsdam, NY, before competing with Union College and St. Lawrence University on Saturday in Canton, NY.
 
Game Details
Opponent: vs. Skidmore (2-12, 0-0 LL)
Links: (Skidmore Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Potsdam, NY
Facility:  Alumni Gymnasium
Date: October 3, 2014
Time:  6 p.m.
 
Opponent: vs. Clarkson University (15-2, 4-0 LL)
Links: (Clarkson Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Potsdam, NY
Facility:  Alumni Gymnasium
Date: October 3, 2014
Time:  8 p.m.

Opponent: vs. Union (12-3, 0-0 LL)
Links: (Union Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Canton, NY
Facility:  Burkman Gymnasium
Date: October 4, 2014
Time:  12 p.m.
 
Opponent: vs. St. Lawrence University (11-8, 2-2 LL)
Links: (St. Lawrence Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Canton, NY
Facility:  Burkman Gymnasium
Date: October 4, 2014
Time:  4 p.m.
 
What To Watch For
The Brewers are coming off a four-set victory over Hunter on September 25, but have not played since then. These four matches will go a long way in determining which four teams will make the conference tournament on November 7-8.
 
A Look at the Thoroughbreds (2-12, 0-0 LL)
Skidmore has had a rough season thus far, coming into this weekend having lost eight straight, though the team has not yet started league play. The Thoroughbreds started their season at the Brockport Invitational and the Rochester Invitational, going 1-2 at each. The next weekend at the Union Invitational, the Thoroughbreds struggled against the tough competition, going 0-4. This past Friday and Saturday, the team finally returned home to host the Skidmore Classic, but Skidmore was unable to break their losing streak, again going 0-4.
 
The Thoroughbreds are lead on offense by senior outside hitter Aria Goodman, who leads the team with 155 kills, 504 attempts, and a .143 hitting percentage. Goodman is followed by sophomore outside hitter Brittany Osborn with 138 total kills. Freshman Kalle Fox runs the offense for Skidmore, dishing out 416 assists so far this season. Sophomore libero Marcela Familiar-Bolanos paces the defense with 368 total digs, and is currently first in the Liberty League with 6.98 digs per set.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Aria Goodman, OH – Brittany Osborn, MH – Rachel Licata, H – Emma Bloom, H – Clara Jones, S – Kalle Fox, L – Marcela Familiar-Bolanos
 
Against Skidmore All-Time
Vassar currently leads the series 33-18, dating back to 1988. The two teams have played every year since then, except 1995. The longest winning streak in the series occurred when Vassar won eight straight between 2005 and 2007. Skidmore's last win in the series came on Oct. 12, 2012. In the last meeting on Oct. 19, 2013, Vassar defeated the Thoroughbreds in four sets.
 
A Look at the Golden Knights (15-2)
Clarkson is off to another strong start this season, losing only two matches so far, which came to No.1 Calvin College and No. 7 Colorado College. Since those losses, the Golden Knights are on an 11-match winning streak, and all but one of those has come in three sets. Clarkson has not played since going 4-0 on the first Liberty League weekend on September 20, though they are scheduled to play Cortland State on October 1.
 
The Golden Knights have run an extremely balanced offense thus far. Junior outsides Victoria Kirkemo and Aishvina Arasu have both been effective this season, hitting .244 and .256 respectively. Kirkemo leads the team with 188 kills, while Arasu is close behind at 165 kills. Adrienne Walker has been strong in the middle, recording 112 kills on a .377 hitting percentage. Setter Kirstie Shurie has dished out 593 assists so far, while libero Evanne Jimenez has paced the defense with 192 total digs.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Victoria Kirkemo, OH – Aishvina Arasu, MH – Adrienne Walker, MH – Rachael Aird OH/RS – Lauren Hutchinson, S – Kirstie Shurie, L – Evanne Jimenez.
 
Against Clarkson All-Time
The Brewers are 11-14 against Clarkson since the series began in 1992. Vassar won the first eleven matches between the two teams, but ever since 2008 the Golden Knights have been on a 14-game winning streak. The last meeting between the two teams was on September 20, 2014; with Clarkson winning in a close three sets.
 
A Look at the Dutchwomen (12-4)
Union College has had a nice start to the season this campaign, opening with 12 wins over the first 16 games. The last time out for Union was Tuesday evening, as the Dutchwomen dropped a four-setter to the Ephs of Williams College in action from Schenectady, NY. UC has been one of the best defensive teams in the conference, forcing teams into a .119 hitting percentage, second lowest in the conference behind Clarkson. Union also leads the Liberty League in blocks per set with 1.86, ranking second in digs per set with 17.69 a game. The offense for the Dutchwomen is also efficient, posting a .163 percentage, which is fourth-highest in the conference.

Rachel Wyman leads the squad with 133 terminations, though the squad has three players with more than 100 kills thanks to Kelley White's 123 and Rajpreet Dhaliwal's 111. Morgan Clark leads the team in hitting percentage among players with more than 200 attempts, chalking up a .230 clip. Lauren Woods has a team-best 56 blocks on the year, also contributing 80 kills, and Clark also has 49 rejections. Union libero Kat Moeller is second in the conference in digs per set with 6.05 ups a game, and setters Amanda Price and Abigail Salamone combine to hand out 8.67 helpers per game.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: S - Amanda Price, MH - Morgan Clark, MH - Lauren Woods, OH - Kelley White, DS - Lauren Gibson, MH - Rajpreet Dhaliwal, L - Kat Moeller.
 
Against Union All-Time
The Brewers and Dutchwomen have played each other 49 times in the all-time series, with the last time coming last October 18 at Union. Vassar has dropped the last two to UC, but won the previous six match-ups. Vassar is 33-16 all-time against Union.
 
A Look at the Saints (11-8)
St. Lawrence has had an up-and-down season so far. After winning seven of eight, the Saints went 2-2 at the first Liberty League weekend, defeating RIT and Bard, but falling to Vassar and Clarkson in three sets. This past weekend, St. Lawrence hosted the Canton Classic, going 1-2, losing to SUNY Canton and Hartwick, before bouncing back to defeat Houghton.
 
The Saints also have a balanced attack, with five players recording at least 75 kills. Junior outside hitter Lexi Brown leads the offense with 181 kills. Brown is followed by middle hitters Cristina Deschaine and Becky Briggs, with 161 and 113 kills, respectively, with Briggs hitting a team-high .341 on the season. Freshman Katie Kull runs the offense, leading the team with 284 assists on the year. On defense, Deschaine leads the team with 57 total blocks, and fellow defensive specialists Mariah Dignan and Katie Rowel the team with 141 and 121 digs, respectively.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Lexi Brown, OH – Amanda Brooks, OH – Maddy Ruehi, MB Cristina Deschaine, MB – Becky Briggs, S – Katie Kull, DS – Katie Rowell.
 
Against St. Lawrence All-Time
Vassar leads the series against the Saints 18-5, dating back to 1993. The Brewers won the first 12 meetings between the two teams, before St. Lawrence upset the Brewers in the Liberty League Championship on Nov. 7, 2008. The teams last met on September 19, 2014, where the Brewers won 3-0.
 
Assist From The Kid
Freshman Sophia Tiajoloff (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) ranks third in the Liberty League right now in assists per set, posting 7.52 helpers a game.
 
Taylor Made
Senior Taylor Mosley (Rowlett, TX/Parish Episcopal School) is currently sixth in the conference in kills per game, averaging 2.74 terminations per set.
Two Aces
Taylor Mosley and Sophia Tiajoloff both rank in the conference's top 10 in service aces per set, as Mosley is third with 0.58 per game and Tiajoloff is eighth with 0.50 a set.
 
Only Need One
Vassar ranks atop the Liberty League rankings in service aces per set, as the Brewers have averaged 2.61 aces per set. The next closest is RIT with 2.40.
 
Moving On Up
Junior libero Chloe Hallum (Baltimore, MD/Olympia) currently sits in fifth all-time in digs at Vassar with 1,324, just four behind Anita Stavin for fourth and 38 behind Nani Loui for third on the list. With her average, Hallum should move into third this weekend.
 
Wide Receivers
As of Wednesday, the three best serve receive players in program history are all current active players. Taylor Mosley sits atop the listing at a .913 clip, while sophomore Gabby Miller (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon) is second at .913 and Chloe Hallum is third with a .910 percentage.
 
Tournament Talk
The Brewers come into this huge weekend tied for second in the Liberty League with a record of 2-2, knotted with RIT and St. Lawrence University. Union and Skidmore have yet to play in-league, while Clarkson is 4-0 and Bard College is 0-4.
 
Call From The Road
Vassar College starts a 13-game road trip this weekend in North Country, one that doesn't end until November 1 against Sage for Senior Day.
 
Up Next
Vassar will return from upstate to head south to take on Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ Wednesday at 7 p.m. in non-conference play.