Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 7, 2015) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team battled a pair of ranked opponents Saturday, hosting No. 5 New Paltz and No. 8 Nazareth College for an United Volleyball Conference (UVC) tri-match, but couldn't pick up either end of the conference doubleheader, falling in three sets in each match.

The Brewers fell in the opener to Nazareth in straight sets with scores of 25-21, 27-25 and 25-23, while dropping the final match of the afternoon to the local Hawks 32-30, 25-19 and 25-21. New Paltz rallied in the other match of the day to top Nazareth in five sets.

No. 8 Nazareth 3, Vassar 0
The Brewers were in each match with the No. 8 Golden Flyers, but couldn't get over the top as Naz was able to earn the clean sweep. In the first set, the visitors took a four-point lead many times during the game, but the Brewers were able tie the match at 18 thanks to a 4-0 run.

VC and the Golden Flyers were tied once more at 19, but Nazareth pulled away for the 25-21 win in the opening stanza, as NC hit .478 in the first frame. The second set saw both teams struggle offensively, as VC held visiting Nazareth to just eight kills in the period, forcing eight errors as well.

The Golden Flyers opened the period on a 4-0 run, and led 22-18 late in the stanza after a service ace by Kane Wittorff. Following a timeout, the Brewers rattled off four consecutive tallies, two coming off the hand of freshman Jorge Rivera (San Juan, PR/Cupeyville) to deadlock the set at 22. Nazareth posted two straight to get to set point, but VC denied the visitors the set by evening the game at 24. Vassar again fended off another game point at 25-24, but a block by Grant Levermore and Chris Mahan and a kill by Jake Kemp sealed the game for Naz.

In the final period, the Golden Flyers (19-3, 3-0 UVC) led from start to finish, though the Brewers made things tight at the end. With the score 24-21, the Brewers earned a point off an attacking error, and a subsequent yellow card on Nazareth gave VC another point to make it 24-23. The comeback would stop there for the Brewers, as Tim Zyburt ended the match with a kill for the Flyers.

Three Brewers paced the offensive attack, as Rivera, junior Reno Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) and sophomore Quinn Rutledge (Chesterfield, VA/Cosby) all posted eight kills. Freshman Zechariah Lee (Santa Clarita, CA/Saugus) added 26 assists and four aces for the Brewers, while Lee and Trey Cimorelli (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) each finished with six digs. VC attacked at a .132 rate against Nazareth, chalking up 31 total kills.

No. 5 New Paltz 3, Vassar 0
Visiting New Paltz earned the daily sweep by defeating the Brewers in three games, though Vassar battled right with the Hawks for much of the match. In the first set, the teams traded points for much of the opening part of the game before New Paltz took an 11-all game and opened up a seven-point lead at 22-15.

Vassar (11-10, 0-4 UVC) strung together a 9-2 run over the next 11 points, highlighted by three Matthew Knigge (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) blocks, to pull even with the Hawks at 24. During the stretch, the Brewers fended off five set points. The two teams alternated side outs over the next 12 points before kills by New Paltz's Andy Fishman and Anthony Bonilla clinched the match for the visitors.

The second set was close for much of the early going, featuring six ties, the latest coming at 13-13. From that point forward, the Hawks (11-4, 4-1 UVC) used a 5-0 run to run away with the game, taking a 2-0 match advantage. The final period was another nail biter, as Vassar led by two at 18-16 following an ace by Lee. Three consecutive points put New Paltz back on top, but a pair of service errors knotted the match at 20.

The Hawks though were just too much, as Bonilla tallied a big block and kill over the last five points to help New Paltz earn the win. Rutledge paced the Brewers with nine kills against the Hawks, while Kriz added seven kills and two assisted blocks. Knigge posted a solid hitting percentage of .385 on seven kills, also posting five assisted blocks.

Lee continued to be strong at the service line, as he totaled five more against the Hawks, while dishing out 24 assists and blocking five attacks. Rivera supplemented the offense with five kills, posting four digs, and Cimorelli had team-highs of six digs and 19 serves received. Vassar held the potent New Paltz offense to just .278 hitting on Saturday.

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The Brewers will return to action Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. in Beverly, Massachusetts, taking on Endicott College in a non-conference tussle.