POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 25, 2014) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team will look to climb back into the thick of things within the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) with a big match with No. 15 NYU Thursday night in New York. The Brewers knocked off Sage Colleges 3-0 Friday night, but dropped a UVC tilt with MIT Saturday in three games. Vassar currently sits in ninth place in the UVC, a spot out of a playoff tournament spot.

Vassar College (4-8, 1-4 UVC)
(Vassar College Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Game Details
Opponent: at No. 15 New York University (7-4, 3-3 UVC)                 
Links: (NYU Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: New York, NY
Facility:  Coles Sports Center (2,500)
Date: February 27, 2014
Time: 7 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

What to Watch For
The Violets come in to today's match having lost three of their last four UVC matches, with the lone victory coming over winless Bard College. Vassar has a great opportunity to go on the road and knock off a ranked opponent Thursday, but it wont be easy. Violet Nation, the student cheer organization for NYU, will be hosting Tear It Up night Thursday in the Coles Sports Center. The Brewers should expect a rowdy, violet clad gaggle of people there to root on the home team. If the young VC squad can stay composed in a hostile environment, it will certainly be a huge boost to the chances of Vassar.

A Look at NYU
The Violets are coming into the weekend 7-4, and are currently 3-3 in conference matches. They played five conference matches in a row against Hilbert (4-15), Medaille (5-5), Penn St.-Behrend (7-2), MIT (11-2), and Bard (4-14). They won two out of the five matches, sweeping both Hilbert and Bard. NYU is currently sitting sixth in the conference, but the top teams in the UVC are within a match or two of each other. Offensively they are second in the UVC in kills and hitting percentage, averaging 12.36 kills per set and hitting .290 overall. NYU ranks second in the conference in assists, averaging 11.93 assists per set. The Violets are also second in the league in opponent assists and kills, keeping their opposition to 9.20 assists and 9.70 kills per set.  Based on these statistics, it seems like NYU is a strong offensive team that quickly puts the ball away.

NYU hitting has been very efficient this season with two players sitting first and third in the conference in terms of hitting percentage. Senior middle Nick Capricco is leading the UVC in hitting percentage with .429, while sophomore outside hitter Phil Bueno is third, hitting at .409. NYU also has a very strong setter. Senior setter Connor Mortland is leading the UVC in assists per set. He is averaging 10.58 assists per set, while the next closest setter is only dishing out 9.79 helpers per set.

Projected Starting Lineup: OH -Phil Bueno, OH – Chase Klein, OH – Colin LaPorte, MB – Nick Capriccio, S – Connor Mortland, L – Andrew Quirk

Against NYU All-Time
Coming into the match Vassar is sitting 11-27 with NYU all-time. NYU has had many long winning streaks against Vassar since 1990, but Vassar has pulled out some big wins at important times, such as last year in the UVC Championships.

Hitting Outside the Box
Senior outside hitter Joe Pyne (Los Angeles, CA/Oakwood Academy) added a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs last weekend in a 3-0 loss to MIT, while junior outside hitter Colin Fearn-Johnson (Honolulu, HI/Punahou) contributed nine kills and three block assists. Pyne is currently ranked ninth in the UVC with 3.25 kills per set.

Reno 911
Sophomore Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) had a team-high 12 kills against MIT, putting him third in the conference in kills (4.04 kills/set).

Trey Ball
Freshman Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) registered seven digs in against MIT and now ranks fifth in the UVC and 12^th nationally in digs with an average of 2.77 per set.

Pass Patrol
Sophomore Colin White-Dzuro (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Royal St. George) tallied up 34 assists against MIT last weekend for a season average of 8.52 assists per set. White-Dzuro is ranked fifth in the conference in assists.

Scottie Does Know
Freshman Colin Peros (Honolulu, HI/Punahou), affectionately known to his teammates as Scotty, played big time minutes as a backrow setter for Vassar Friday, dishing out 21 assists against the Gators.

Rowdy Rutledge
Freshman utility man Quinn Rutledge (Chesterfield, VA/Cosby) has played all over the place this season thus far, starting at setter and outside hitter. He posted nine kills in a match win over Hunter, and dished out 30 at Emerson.

Up Next
The Brewers will face Thiel College and Juniata College at home on Saturday, March 1^st as part of a four-team quad match with New Paltz. VC plays Thiel at 11 a.m., before New Paltz take on Thiel and Juniata. The Brewers then finish the day's action against Juniata.