POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 19, 2015) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team (7-7, 0-2 UVC) will try to snap a three-match losing streak when they travel to Annandale-On-Hudson, NY this Friday and Saturday for the Bard College Tournament. The Brewers will take on Staten Island and City College of New York University at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, before finishing the weekend against Mount Saint Vincent at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Game Details
Opponent: College of Staten Island (4-5, 3-2 CUNYAC)
Links:  (Staten Island Men's Volleyball Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Annandale-On-Hudson
Facility: Stevenson Athletic Center
Date: February 20, 2015
Time: 4:00 pm
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics)(@VassarMensVB) (@CSIDolphins)

Opponent: City College of New York (2-7, 0-5 CUNYAC)
Links:  (CCNY Men's Volleyball Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Annandale-On-Hudson
Facility: Stevenson Athletic Center
Date: February 20, 2015
Time: 6:00 pm
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics)(@VassarMensVB) (@CCNYSports)
 
Opponent: Mount Saint Vincent (5-2, 1-1 Skyline)
Links:  (Mount St. Vincent Men's Volleyball Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Annandale-On-Hudson
Facility: Stevenson Athletic Center
Date: February 21, 2015
Time: 1:00 pm
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics)(@VassarMensVB) (@CMSVAthletics)
 
What To Look For
Vassar is coming of a tough three-set loss against Ramapo, which extended the team's losing streak to a season-high three games. The Brewers are really looking to recover quickly, with more conference games coming up soon, and this weekend will give them several chances to gain some momentum heading into some big games. The Brewers will take on No. 11 Baruch next weekend, and No. 6 Nazareth and No. 3 New Paltz on March 7.
 
A Look at the Dolphins (4-5, 3-2 CUNYAC)
Staten Island is off to a solid start in their first season as a program. After dropping their first four matches of the season, the Dolphins have come back to win four of their last five matches. The team earned their first-ever victory in five sets over CCNY on February 7, and followed that up with a three-set victory against St. Joseph's College. After falling to Lehman, Staten Island bounced back to defeat Medgar Evers and Brooklyn this past weekend.
 
The Dolphins are led on offense by sophomore outside hitter Brian Sheydvasser with 47 total kills on the season. Sheydvasser is followed by freshman outside hitter Mark Palencia and junior middle hitter Justin Edwardsen, with 36 and 24 kills, respectively. Junior setter Philip Szumanski runs the offense, dishing out 97 total assists on the season. On defense freshman right side Song Shin Low and sophomore libero Ronald Tisbe pace the team with 36 and 34 digs, respectively.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Brian Sheydvasser, OH – Mark Palencia, MH – Justin Edwardsen, MH – Danil Kukovitskiy, RS – Song Shin Low, S – Philip Szumanski, L – Ronald Tisbe
 
Against Staten Island All-Time
This is the first time the Vassar has ever played the Dolphins.
 
A Look at the Beavers (2-7, 0-5 CUNYAC)
CCNY has had a tough start to the season so far. After defeating the College of Staten Island in their first match of the season, the Beavers lost their next five matches, including their first three conference games and a rematch with the Dolphins. After defeating Albertus Magnus, CCNY lost to Lehman and York in consecutive five-set thrillers this past Monday.
 
The Beavers run much of their offense through senior outside hitter Anthony Reyes, who has 161 kills on 452 total swings this season, on a team-high .228 hitting percentage. Reyes is currently second in the nation with 4.47 kills per set. Junior middle hitters Leonel Pascual and Jeffrey Yin follow Reyes with 54 and 40 kills on the season. Sophomore setter Oleksandr Boychuk runs the offense, totaling 167 assists on the season. On defense, Pascual leads the team with 28 total blocks, while Reyes paces the back row with 92 digs.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Anthony Reyes, OH – David Cham, OH – Austin Mendoze, MH – Leonel Pascual, MH – Jeffrey Yin, S – Oleksandr Boychuk, L – Cuong Quoc Tran
 
Against CCNY All-Time
Vassar currently leads the series 1-0. In their only meeting, on February 25, 2012, the Brewers defeated CCNY 3-0.
 
A Look at the Dolphins (5-2, 1-1 Skyline)
Mount Saint Vincent is off to a strong start this season. The Dolphins opened their season by splitting a home tri-match, defeating Albertus Magnus before falling to Southern Vermont. Mount Saint Vincent then swept both Lehman and York. After falling in three sets to New Jersey City, the Dolphins bounced back to defeat Sage and the Culinary Institute of America this past week.
 
The Dolphins run a relatively balanced offense, with four players having between 25 and 55 kills. Freshman outside hitter Marc Barreda leads the way with 53 kills on the season. Barreda is followed by senior middle hitter Brett Holiday and freshman outside hitter Michael Kochen with 43 and 42 kills, respectively. Holiday is hitting a team-high .326, for players with more than 15 swings. Senior setter James Digiovanni runs the offense, totaling 105 assists this season. On defense, Holiday leads the team at the net with 19 total blocks, while sophomore libero T.J. Barczik paces the defense with 58 digs.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Marc Barreda, OH – Michael Kochen, MH – Marc Barreda, MH – Neven Skoblar, S – Logan Dickover, S – James Digiovanni, L – T.J. Barczik
 
Against Mount Saint Vincent All-Time
Vassar currently leads the series 4-0, dating back to 2008. The two teams played every year between 2008 and 2010, with the Brewers winning in three sets each time. In the team's last meeting, on April 4, 2012, Vassar defeated the Dolphins in four sets.
 
Back Row Boss
Sophomore libero Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) had another solid match against Ramapo on Wednesday, totaling 11 digs, including his 100^th dig of the season. Cimorelli has had double-digit digs in five of the last six games. Cimorelli has moved up to eighth in the UVC in digs, with 2.35 digs per set.
 
Spark Off The Bench
Sophomore outside hitter Quinn Rutledge (Chesterfield, VA/Cosby) continues to be a spark plug off the bench for the Brewers, contributing five kills on a team-high .333 hitting percentage on Wednesday.
 
Set Game
After earning Vassar's featured athlete of the week, freshman setter Zechariah Lee (Santa Clarita, CA/Saugus) dished out 30 assists against Ramapo. Lee is currently fourth in the UVC with 8.64 assists per set.
 
Over 100
Freshman middle hitter Matt Knigge (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) had four kills against Ramapo on Thursday, including his 100^th kill on the season. Knigge is currently second on the team with 102 kills, and first on the team with a .361 hitting percentage and 48 total blocks.
 
Great Service
Despite only registering two aces against Ramapo, the Brewers still lead the UVC with 2.06 aces per set. Lee is currently second with 0.68 aces per set, while junior middle hitter Erik Halberg (Newark, DE/Salesianum) is tied for ninth with 0.33 aces per set.
 
Up Next
After Saturday, the Brewers have five days off, and then they travel to New York, NY to face off against No. 11 Baruch on Friday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. The next day, Vassar will host its annual alumni game in Kenyon Hall, starting at 12 p.m.