POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 1, 2014) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team, coming off of a big win against Division 1 Sacred Heart University, take on New York University at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Kenyon Hall. The Brewers are looking to avenge their five-set loss to the Violets earlier this season that cost Vassar a playoff berth.
 
Vassar College (9-19, 3-8 UVC)
(Vassar College Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)

Game Details
Opponent: vs. New York University (14-10, 5-6 UVC)
Links: (NYU Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Kenyon Hall (500)
Date: April 3, 2014
Time:  7 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
A Look at the Violets (14-10, 5-6 UVC)
NYU has had a solid year playing a difficult schedule, facing off against nine ranked opponents, as well as two Division 1 foes. The Violets have struggled the past couple weeks, losing four straight before bouncing back to defeat New Jersey City College in four sets and Hunter College in three sets. In their only game last week, NYU fell in a five-set thriller to Baruch College. The Violets are among the conference leaders in several statistical categories, including second in hitting percentage (.267), third in assists (11.72 per set) and kills (12.45 per set), second in opponent assists (9.22 per set) and opponent kills (9.87 per set), and second in aces (1.48 per set).
 
The Violets have been pretty balanced on offense this season, with four players between 150 and 270 kills. Freshman outside hitter Chase Klein leads the way with 266 kills, and is sixth in the UVC in kills, with 3.55 terminations per set. Sophomore outside hitter Colin LaPorte is second on the team with 225 kills. In the middle, senior Nick Capriccio and sophomore Phil Bueno have had stellar seasons, with Capriccio leading the conference in hitting percentage at .417, while Bueno is third at .392. Capriccio also leads the team with 62 total blocks. Senior setter Connor Mortland has 718 assists on the season, and is second in the nation in assists, averaging 10.59 helpers per set. Junior libero Andrew Quirk anchors the defense with 152 digs, and is seventh in the conference with 2.45 digs per set.
 
Projected Starting Lineup: OH – Chase Klein, OH – Colin LaPorte, OH – Jacob Getz, MH – Nick Capriccio, MH – Phil Bueno, S – Connor Mortland, L – Andrew Quirk
 
Against NYU All-Time
Vassar is 11-28 all-time against NYU, dating back to 1990.  The teams have played in every year since 1995. Vassar's last win in the series came on April 13^th, 2013, when the Brewers defeated the Violets in the quarterfinals of the UVC Championships in a five-set thriller. The last meeting came on February 27^th, 2014, where NYU won in five sets.
 
 
Not So Fresh
Freshman liberos Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) and Colin Peros (Honolulu, HI/Punahou) came up huge this past weekend. Cimorelli finished with 16 digs against Sacred Heart, while Peros came off the bench to post six digs. Cimorelli is currently averaging 2.94 digs per set, good for third in the UVC.
 
On The Attack
Senior Joe Pyne (Los Angeles, CA/Oakwood Secondary) and sophomore Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) and combined for 40 of the team's 58 kills against Sacred Heart. On the season, Kriz and Pyne are both ranked in the top 10 in kills in the conference. Kriz is third with 3.76 kills per set, while Pyne ranks eighth with 3.47 terminations per set.
 
Up The Middle
Middle hitters Erik Halberg (Newark, DE/Salesianum) and Christian Lizana (Dublin, PA/Pennridge) combined for ten blocks against Sacred Heart, including a career-high six blocks from Lizana, helping the Brewers to out-block their opponent for just the sixth time this season.
 
Helping Hand
Junior setter Colin White-Dzuro (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Royal St. George) had the second-highest assist total of his career against Sacred Heart, dishing out 52 helpers.  White-Dzuro is currently seventh in the UVC in assists, averaging 7.85 per set.
 
Ready To Go
Freshman outside hitter Quinn Rutledge (Chesterfield, VA/Cosby) came up clutch off the bench against Sacred Heart, replacing the injured Colin Fearn-Johnson (Honolulu, HI/Punahou). Rutledge filled the box score, contributing six kills, three assisted blocks, and a team-high two aces.
 
Four No More
The Brewers have been solid in pretty much every set this season, except for the fourth game. However, after starting 1-9 in fourth sets played, the Brewers have won three of their last six fourth sets.
 
Up Next
The Brewers will face Brooklyn College and Division 1 Rutgers-Newark University at home on Saturday, April 5^th, in the final tri-match of the season. Vassar plays Brooklyn at 11 a.m. in its Senior Day match, and then takes on Rutgers-Newark at 3 p.m.