Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

UTICA, NY (January 24, 2015) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team battled No. 9 Nazareth College to the brink Saturday morning, falling in five sets before coming back in the afternoon exhausted, dropping a three-setter to Wentworth Institute of Technology in Pool A action of the SUNYIT Tournament.

No. 9 Nazareth 3, Vassar 2
The Brewers fell behind early in the match to the Golden Flyers, but showed some resolve by rallying to force a fifth set. A slow start by Vassar College in the fifth set allowed Nazareth to jump ahead, eventually earning the hard fought match 25-22, 25-15, 21-25, 20-25 and 15-10.

Freshman setter Zechariah Lee (Santa Clarita, CA/Saugus) had an outstanding performance in only his second match as a Brewer, as he dished out 33 assists to go with a team-leading 11 digs and three assisted blocks. Fellow newcomer Jorge Rivera (San Juan, PR/Cupeyville) led Vassar with 12 kills, adding three aces and five digs, while junior right side Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) chalked up 10 kills, five digs and two helped rejections.

Freshman Matt Knigge (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) had nine kills on 16 swings, posting a .438 hitting percentage, while middle hitting partner Erik Halberg (Newark, DE/Salesianum School) chalked up five terminations and four service aces, a team-best. The Brewers hit .169 (46-24-130) against the Golden Flyers, erroring on seven attempts in the final set.

Wentworth 3, Vassar 0
The Brewers came out of the gates slow in the second match of the afternoon, finishing third in Pool A after a three-set loss to Wentworth Institute of Technology with scores of  25-16, 25-14 and 25-21. The team started to come alive offensively in the final set, connecting on 14 kills, but it was too late as VC finished with a hitting clip of just 29-21-79 (.101).

Rivera again paced the Brewers offensively with a team-best 12 kills, contributing six digs as well, while Kriz added six terminations. Lee posted 24 assists and six digs in the second match of the day, and sophomore Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) tallied a team-leading nine digs. Knigge was named as an All-Tournament Team honoree for his play on the weekend.

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The Brewers return to action Thursday evening at 7 p.m. for their home opener, taking on No. 11 New York University at 7 p.m. in Kenyon Hall. Live stats and live video will be available at www.vassarathletics.com.