POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 27, 2014) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team has a big weekend coming up, competing in four matches, including the top two teams in the nation. The Brewers host Thiel College and No. 2 Juniata College on Saturday, and then travel to New Paltz, NY to play No. 1 SUNY New Paltz and Dominican University.

Vassar College (4-10, 1-6 UVC)
(Vassar College Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Thiel College (8-7, 2-1 CVC)
Links: (Thiel College Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Kenyon Hall (500)
Date: March 1, 2014
Time: 11 a.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Game Details
Opponent: vs. No. 2 Juniata College (14-2, 3-0 CVC)
Links: (Juniata Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Kenyon Hall (500)
Date: March 1, 2014
Time: 5 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
Game Details
Opponent: vs. No. 1 SUNY New Paltz  (13-2, 5-1 UVC)
Links: (SUNY New Paltz Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: New Paltz, NY
Facility:  Hawk Center
Date: March 2, 2014
Time: 11 a.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Dominican University (5-6, 3-2 CVC)
Links: (Dominican Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: New Paltz, NY
Facility:  Hawk Center
Date: March 2, 2014
Time: 1 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
A Look at the Tomcats (8-7, 2-1 CVC)
Thiel College has had a solid start to their season, including a national ranking earlier in the season. The Tomcats played well this past weekend, going 3-0, beating Marymount University in three sets, Eastern Mennonite University in four sets, and the College of Mount St. Joseph in a five-set thriller. Thiel saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, falling in four sets to Juniata College. The Tomcats are leading the CVC in digs, averaging 10.73 per set.
 
The Tomcats have been relatively balanced this year, with four players having between 80 and 130 kills. Junior outside hitter Dylan Lasher leads the team with 130 kills, averaging 2.24 per set. Senior middle hitter Michael Whitelock has contributed 118 kills on a sterling .357 hitting percentage, good for third in the CVC. Whitelock also leads the team with 53 total blocks, and is currently seventh in the conference in blocks per set. Junior libero Ian Philips leads Thiel in digs, averaging 2.39 per set, good for sixth in the CVC.
 
Projected Starting Lineups: OH – Dylan Lasher, OH – Thad Paunovich, MB – Michael Whitelock, MB – Evan Proksell, OPP – Kyle Turkalj, S – Corey Hamilton, L – Ian Philips
 
A Look at the Eagles (14-2, 3-0 CVC)
Nationally-ranked No. 2 Juniata College has been dominant in the early parts of their season, losing only to NCAA Division II Puerto Rico University in five sets, and Lakeland in four sets on February 9^th. Juniata has bounced back nicely from their last loss, sweeping Eastern Mennonite University, Marymount University, and Hilbert College this past weekend. The Eagles also defeated Thiel College in four sets on Wednesday. Juniata is also dominant statistically, leading the CVC in hitting percentage (.293), service aces per set (1.83), and total blocks per set (3.05). Nationally, the Eagles are first in blocks per set, and fourth in hitting percentage. Juniata is also third in the conference in kills per set (11.80) and assists per set (10.98).
 
The Eagles have been extremely balanced this season, with four players between 80 and 115 kills. Sophomore setter Matt Elias has done a great job distributing the ball, and is currently fourth in the CVC with 9.30 assists per set. Junior outside hitter and 2013 Second Team All-American Paul Kuhn paces the offense with 2.84 kills per set on a .311 hitting percentage. Junior right side Alex McColgin is second on the team with 108 kills. Freshman middle hitter Chad Albert is having an outstanding season, leading the nation in blocks, with 1.45 rejections per set, and is also hitting an impressive .450 on the season. Junior middle hitter and 2013 First Team All-American Joe Bortak has 92 kills and is hitting .426 on the season.
 
Projected Starting Lineups: OH – Paul Kuhn, OH – Ross Madden, MH – Joe Bortak, MH – Chad Albert, OPP – Alex McColgin, S – Matt Elias, L – Brendan Smith
 
A Look at the Hawks (13-2, 5-1 UVC)
Top-ranked SUNY New Paltz has played a difficult schedule this season, facing nine ranked opponents in 15 matches, and has gone 7-2 in those matches. After falling to then-No. 4 Springfield College in four sets back on February 6^th, the Hawks rattled off ten consecutive wins. This streak included victories over No. 7 Elmira College, No. 6 Nazareth College, and No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology, as well as back-to-back sweeps of No. 1 Rivier University and No. 2 Springfield College. New Paltz finally cooled off on Wednesday, falling to No. 6 MIT in a five-set thriller. The Hawks lead the nation in hitting percentage (.314) and assists per set (12.03). In the UVC, New Paltz also is the leader in opponent assists (8.03), kills (12.90), opponent kills (8.60), and service aces (1.69).
 
The Hawks, similar to the first two team Vassar plays, runs a balanced offense, with five players between 90 and 165 kills. Sophomore outside hitter and 2013 First Team All-American Tim Ferriter leads the way for New Paltz with 165 kills. Ferriter's 3.67 kills per set and .367 hitting percentage rank fifth and eight in the UVC, respectively. Sophomore middle hitter Christopher Husmann is second on the team with 141 kills, and leads the team with 39 total blocks. Setters Christian Smith and John Lutjen have 6.57 and 5.00 assists per set, respectively. Freshman middle hitter Steven Woessner is seventh in the conference in hitting percentage (.388), as well as fourth in aces per set (0.45)
 
Projected Starting Lineups: OH – Tim Ferriter, OH – Brian Smith, MH – Christopher Husmann, MH – Steven Woessner, S – Christian Smith, S – John Lutjen, L – Victor Tuminelli
 
A Look at the Stars (5-6, 3-2 CVC)
First-year program Dominican University has had a successful inaugural season so far. The Stars earned their first win on January 26^th against Division II opponent McKendree University in four sets. Dominican also had a successful CVC debut, defeating Cairn University in four sets, Marymount University in three sets, and Thiel College in four sets. Most recently, the Stars lost a tightly contested five sets against Milwaukee School of Engineering, before falling in three sets to Carthage College on Wednesday. Dominican is currently second in the CVC and tenth nationally in blocks, with 2.39 rejections per set.
 
The Stars, as a first-year program, have 16 freshmen and no upperclassmen on their roster. Outside hitter Zachery Sinn leads the team with 110 kills on a .276 hitting percentage. Opposite Charlie Spry is second on the team with 93 kills, while outside hitter Jeremy Royko is third with 87 kills. Middle Hitters Aldan Spangler and Mason Solbrig lead Dominican in blocks with 0.93 and 0.90 rejections per set, respectively. Setter Alex Coyne is currently eighth in the CVC in assists, with 9.06 helpers per set. Libero Brooks Nevrly is second in the conference in digs, with 2.64 per set.
 
Projected Starting Lineups: OH – Zachery Sinn, OH – Jeremy Royko, MH – Mason Solbrig, MH – Aldan Spangler, OPP – Charlie Spry, S – Alex Coyne, L – Brooks  Nevrly
 
Shipping Up to Boston
The Brewers have traveled to Boston three times over the last three weekends to play a total of seven matches, including a conference win against D'Youville College.

The Space Between
Vassar went 1-1 in mid-week games against Stevens Institute (L, 1-3) and Hunter College (W, 3-0), which puts their record for this season at 4-10 overall, and 1-6 in the conference.

Pyne Fresh
Senior hitter Joe Pyne (Los Angeles, CA/Oakwood Secondary) had a season-high 17 kills against Hunter College with a .429 hitting percentage. Pyne has had double digit kills in nine of 14 matches this season, and is averaging 3.25 kills per set.

Right Side, Strong Side
Sophomore right side Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) has had double digit kills in all but two matches on the season with a total of 3.95 kills per set.

Here You Go
Junior setter Colin White-Dzuro (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Royal St. George) has had 20 or more assists in 10 matches on the season, with a career-high 42 assists in a tough five-set loss to New Paltz (Jan. 29).

Nipped In New York
Vassar dropped its match to NYU on Thursday, Feb. 27. Senior Joe Pyne ended the night with 13 kills, while sophomore hitter Reno Kriz tallied a team-best 16 finishes. Freshman libero Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) added 14 digs for the Brewers, allowing 38 assists for junior setter Colin White-Dzuro. Cimorelli is now ranked fourth in the conference in digs.

Up Next
Vassar travels up the Hudson River Wednesday evening to take on Bard College in UVC action at 7 p.m. in Annandale-On-Hudson, NY.