POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 11, 2014) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team will look to rebound from a 1-2 record this past weekend at the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover at MIT. The Brewers knocked off D'Youville College in three games, but fell to Nazareth College in three games and dropped a four-set decision to Elmira College. The Brewers will take on No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology Wednesday night at 6 p.m. in Kenyon Hall; note the earlier start time due to the expected weather of Winter Storm Pax.

(Vassar College Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)

Game Details
Opponent: vs. No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology (4-3, 3-1 UVC)       
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Kenyon Hall (500)
Date: February 12, 2014
Time: 6 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
Links: (Stevens Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)

What To Look For
The Brewers have dropped a number of nail biters this season, and have been in pretty much every match they have played. Unfortunately, Vassar hasn't been able to pull out the close ones yet, though the experience of playing in close contests will be beneficial through the rest of the schedule. Though it is still early in the season, the Brewers will look to get back on track soon, especially in conference where many teams will be jockeying for position.

A Look at the No. 12 Ducks (4-3, 3-1 UVC)
Stevens is barely above .500 on the year, but comes to Poughkeepsie playing some of its best volleyball of the season. The Ducks won all three contests as the UVC Crossover this past weekend, earning victories over Penn State-Behrend (3-0), Hilbert College (3-0) and No. 15 Medaille College (3-2). Of the Ducks three losses, two came against Division I opponents, while the other was a five-set heartbreaker against No. 10 New York University in the opening match of the season. Stevens currently ranks third in the UVC in hitting percentage with a .247 clip, while holding opponents to just .186 attacking on average. The Ducks also lead the conference in blocks per game, rejecting 2.74 attempts a set.

Looking at the individuals, Daniel Smith comes in pacing the offense in terms of percentage, registering a hitting clip of .470. Gabe Schankweiler has a team-best 91 kills on the year, seventh in the UVC, while teammate Chris Vaughan is tenth in the league with 2.93 kills per set and 79 terminations. Smith is fourth in the league in blocks, while setter Kevin Aeckerle is third in the league in assists per game with 9.74 a set. Thomas Wright has 49 kills for the Ducks, and libero Dylan Schlosser has a team-best 62 digs on the year.

Projected Starters: OH - Gabe Schankweiler, MH - Daniel Smith, OH - Chris Vaughan, OH - Thomas Wright, S - Kevin Aeckerle, MH - Alexander Carpenter, L - Dylan Schlosser

Against Stevens All-Time
Vassar College enters the week with a 3-6 all-time against Stevens Institute of Technology, with the Ducks earning the last three matches between the two schools. All three of the Brewer's wins have come in Poughkeepsie though, the last victory coming in 2010.

Pound It Down
Sophomore hitter Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) totaled 41 kills in three matches this past weekend, and leads the Brewers with a 3.96 kill per set average. Kris is currently ranked third in kills per set in the conference.

Pyne Tree
Senior Joe Pyne (Los Angeles, CA/Oakwood Secondary) added 27 kills on the weekend and is ninth in the conference averaging 3.00 kills per set. Pyne's killer serve has been a great help to the Brewers. He is currently fifth in the conference in aces, averaging 0.46 aces per set.

Give Me A Hand
Junior setter Colin-White Dzuro (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Royal St. George) had a solid defensive effort this past weekend posting 21 digs. He also added 76 assists in the past three matches and is currently ranked fifth in the conference with 8.58 assists per set.

Do I Know You?
After Wednesday evening's affair with Stevens, Vassar will play eight of its next 10 games out of conference.

Next Man Up
Freshman Quinn Rutledge (Chesterfield, VA/Cosby) came off the bench last weekend, stepping in for injured teammate Colin Fearn-Johnson (Honolulu, HI/Punahou), and posted eight helpers and four digs in 3-1 loss to Elmira College.

Digging Up Success
Freshman Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) has stepped up for the Brewers during the first weeks of the Brewer's season. He had a game high 15 digs against 2013 national runner-up Nazareth and is currently ranked fourth in the conference in digs, averaging 2.83 digs per set. Freshman Colin Peros (Honolulu, HI/Punahou) recorded a career-high 12 digs against Elmira last weekend.

Up Next
Vassar College will head back to Boston, Massachusetts this weekend to take on Endicott College and Emerson College in a tri-match Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. on the campus of Emerson.