POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 18, 2014) – The Vassar College women's volleyball team starts league play this weekend, traveling to Bard on Friday to face off against Bard and St. Lawrence. The Brewers then host the second half of the Liberty League weekend, welcoming RIT and Clarkson on Saturday.
 
Game Details
Opponent: vs. Bard College (2-10)
Links: (Bard Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Annadale-on-Hudson, NY
Facility:  Stevenson Athletic Center
Date: September 19, 2014
Time:  4 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
Opponent: vs. St. Lawrence University (8-4)
Links: (St. Lawrence Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Annadale-on-Hudson, NY
Facility:  Stevenson Athletic Center
Date: September 19, 2014
Time:  6 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Stats)
 
Opponent: vs. RIT (7-3)
Links: (RIT Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Athletics and Fitness Center
Date: September 20, 2014
Time:  12 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
Opponent: vs. Clarkson University (11-2)
Links: (Clarkson Women's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility:  Athletics and Fitness Center
Date: September 20, 2014
Time:  4 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
A Look at the Raptors (2-10)
Bard has had a tough road so far. The Raptors opened their season at the Scranton Invitational, going 0-4 in matches there. After a tough five-set loss to Maritime, Bard got its first win in a sweep against Sarah Lawrence. This past weekend, the Raptors competed in the Oswego State Tournament, again going 0-4, but taking sets from Alfred and SUNY Potsdam. On Wednesday, Bard earned its second win, defeating Purchase 3-0.
 
The Raptors have a very balanced attack this season, with 6 players having between 20 and 50 kills. Two freshmen, outside hitter Philippine Alba and middle hitter Lexi Akingbade, pace the team with 48 kills apiece, with Akingbade hitting a team-high .273. The two are followed closely by Tytravia Riley with 43 kills. Seniors Amy Kassowitz and Lexi Cooper split the setting duties, recording 101 and 88 assists, respectively. On defense, Bard is led by Alba and sophomore libero Daniella Azulai, with 96 digs apiece.
 
Possible Starting Lineup: OH – Philippine Alba, OH – Tytravia Riley, OH – Amy Kassowitz, MB – Lexi Akingbade, MB – Zoe Morgan-Weinman, S – Lexi Cooper, L – Daniella Azulai.
 
 
Against Bard All-Time
Vassar currently leads the series 15-0, dating back to 1988. The two teams have met eight times since 2009, with the Brewers winning 3-0 all but one. The last time Bard was able to take a set was Oct. 17, 2009. The last meeting was Oct. 9, 2013 at Vassar, with Vassar winning 3-0.
 
A Look at the Saints (8-4)
St. Lawrence has successfully bounced back from a slow start. After losing three of the first four, the Saints have won seven of their last eight. At the Victory Promotions Tournament, the team won all three games, only dropping two sets. This past weekend, St. Lawrence competed in the Oswego Invitational, defeating Wells in a five-set thriller, as well as host Oswego State and Alfred, only falling to Hamilton 3-1.
 
The Saints also have a balanced attack, with five players recording at least 50 kills. Junior outside hitter Lexi Brown leads the offense with 100 kills. Brown is followed by middle hitters Cristina Deschaine and Becky Briggs, with 83 and 61 kills, respectively, with Briggs hitting an impressive .359 on the season. Senior Jenna Street and freshman Katie Kull have split the setting duties, combining for 293 assists on the year. On defense, Deschaine leads the team with 34 total blocks, while Briggs has a team-high 11 solo blocks. Sophomore defensive specialist Katie Rowell and Street pace the team with 76 and 70 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 17-5, 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 split their two meetings last year, with the Saints winning 3-1 on Sept. 28. 2013, and the Brewers winning 3-0 on Oct. 5. 2013.
 
A Look at the Tigers (7-3)
The Tigers are off to a strong start this season. They are currently on a four-match win streak, with a record of 7-3 overall. They played their first seven matches away at the Misercordia Tournament and the Nazareth Invitational, winning four out of the seven contests.  Last weekend at the RIT Invitational the team went 3-0, shutting out two of the teams, while winning a hard fought five set match to Keuka College to finish off the tournament.
 
The Tigers look to sophomore Sarah Szybist to put the ball away. She was Liberty League Rookie of the Year and received First Team Liberty League honors last season. This season she has two hundred more swings than the next closest Tiger. She is also averaging 4.83 kills per set and has an overall hitting percentage of .316. The Tigers run a 6-2 with Emma Dowdy and Laiz Novaes, earning 5.53 and 4.92 assists per set respectively. Bethany Davis is having another strong season in the back row for the Tigers, picking up 119 digs so far.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Sarah Szybist, OH – Amy Van Hienen, OH – Sarah Martin, OH/S - Emma Dowdy, MB – Taylor Harkness, S – Laiz Novaes, L – Bethany Davis.
 
Against RIT All-Time
The Brewers are 9 -13 against the Tigers in a series that dates back to 1989. Of the first twelve contests held between these two teams, RIT won eleven of them. The Brewers are currently on a four game win streak and are looking to continue that this weekend. 
 
A Look at the Golden Knights (11-2)
Clarkson is off to another strong start this season losing only two matches so far. Their only losses have come from No.1 Calvin College and No. 7 Colorado College. They lost in a hard fought five sets to Calvin during the Clarkson Classic and were downed in three by Colorado at the Colorado Classic. Other than those two losses, Clarkson has been phenomenal thus far, shutting out nine of the 13 teams that they have played.
 
The Golden Knights are effective at moving the ball around on offense. The two outsides, Victoria Kirkemo and Aishvina Arasu have both been extremely efficient this season, hitting .244 and .256 respectively. Victoria is sitting at 3.48 kills per set, while Aishvina is averaging 3.14 kills per set. Adrienne Walker has been strong from the middle, maintaining a .364 hitting percentage on 198 attempts. Setter Kirstie Shurie has dished out 452 helpers so far, while libero Evanna Jimenez has contributed 136 digs.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Victoria Kirkemo, OH – Aishvina Arasu, MH – Adrienne Walker, OH/RS – Lauren Hutchinson, OH - Katrina Lane, S – Kirstie Shurie, L – Evanne Jimenez.
 
Against Clarkson All-Time
The Brewers are 11-13 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 13 game winning streak.
 
Shrobs
Sophomore Sarah Roberts (Port Washington, NY/P.D. Schreiber) is leading the team in terms of efficiency so far this season. She currently has a hitting percentage of .270 on her 37 attempts over the course of her 16 sets played.
 
Balancing Act
The Brewers are running a much more balanced offense this season than they ran last year. Three players have over two hundred swings. Taylor Mosley (Rowlett, TX/Parish Episcopal) is still the go-to player for the team, seeing as she has 328 swings on the year.
 
Helping Hand
Freshman setter Sophia Tiajoloff (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) is continuing to make an impact on the court. She already has dished out 315 assists on the year, averaging 7.50 assists per set. There also have been six matches in which she has had over 30.
 
Solid as a Rock
Junior Chloe Hallum (Olympia,WA/Olympia) has been a strong and steady player for the Brewers in the back row so far this season. Picking up double digit digs in ten matches so far, and over twenty digs in six of them, including 21 in three sets in the team's last match against Wellesley.
 
Serve it Up
As a team, the Brewers are averaging 2.57 aces per set compared to their opponents who are only averaging 1.74. Taylor Mosley leads the team with 24 aces, while Sophia Tiajoloff follows closely behind with 22. Three other members of the team have double digit aces on the year.
 
Stepping up Big
Coming off the bench this past weekend at Seven Sisters, freshman Ashley Hoyle (Wallingford,PA/Strath Haven) came in clutch for the Brewers picking up two aces in one serving run.
 
Up Next
The Brewers are home again next week on Thursday the 25^th against Hunter College. After three tournaments in the AFC, the team is excited to return to Kenyon Hall.