POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 7, 2015) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team (18-12, 3-5 UVC) starts postseason play this weekend, traveling back to Hoboken, N.J. for the UVC Championships. The No. 6 Brewers start play against No. 3 Nazareth on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Stevens' Canavan Arena. 
 
Game Details
Opponent: vs. Nazareth (26-5, 6-2 UVC) – Tournament Website
Links:  (Nazareth Men's Volleyball Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Hoboken, NJ
Facility: Canavan Arena
Date: April 10, 2015
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics) (@VassarMensVB) (@NazAthletics)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
What to Look For
Vassar is back in the UVC playoffs for the third time in four seasons. From here on out, it's win or go home for the Brewers. In order for Vassar to make the NCAA tournament, the team will have to defeat No. 3 Nazareth, No. 2 SUNY New Paltz, and possibly No. 1 Stevens. Don't count out the Brewers though; the team is riding a lot of momentum coming into the weekend, winning seven of its last nine matches, including two wins this past weekend on Senior Day.
 
A Look at the Golden Flyers (26-5, 6-2 UVC)
Nazareth had an outstanding regular season, and is likely in line for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, if they come up short in the UVC Tournament. The Golden Flyers have defeated six ranked teams this season, and are the only team in Division III to have defeated UC Santa Cruz, sweeping the Banana Slugs in February. Nazareth is coming into this game having won seven of their last eight, including conference wins over Elmira, NYU, and MIT, only losing in a rematch against UC Santa Cruz in four sets.
 
On offense, the Golden Flyers are led by the junior outside hitter duo of Tim Zyburt and Grant Levermore, who have recorded 330 and 232 kills on the season, respectively. Senior middle hitter Luke Lawatsch is third on the team with 176 kills, and is hitting a team-high .435. Freshman setter Jake Kemp runs the offense, totaling 830 assists on the year. At the net, Lawatsch leads Nazareth with 102 total blocks, while junior libero Cory Randolph leads the team with 138 digs.
 
Potential Starting Lineup: OH – Tim Zyburt, OH – Grant Levermore, MH – Luke Lawatsch, MH – Chris Mahan, OPP – Josh Hieb, S – Jake Kemp, L – Cory Randolph
 
Against Nazareth All-Time
Nazareth currently leads the series 15-3, dating back to 2007. After the teams split the first six matches from 2007 to 2010, the Golden Flyers have won the last 12 meetings, including five-set and three-set victories over the Brewers this season. Vassar's last win in the series came on Feb. 20, 2010, where the Brewers won in three sets.
 
Setter Superb
Senior setter Colin White-Dzuro (Toronto, ON/Royal St. George) dished out a total of 35 assists across two games on Saturday, including 20 against Sage. The senior now has 1,219 assists in his career, which is good for sixth all-time at Vassar.
 
Artie With The Ace
Senior opposite Artie Blissert (Midlothian, VA/Trinity Episcopal) set a career-high with six aces in just one set of play against York. Blissert also added two kills in the victory.
 
Wookie Monster
Senior opposite Luke Sobieraj (Chicago, IL/Northside College Prep) also had an outstanding senior day, recording eight kills on just 12 attempts without an error across the two matches, hitting .667 on the weekend, while also totaling three blocks.
 
Rookie Delight
Freshman outside hitter Jorge Rivera (San Juan, PR/Cupeyville) recorded a team-high 13 kills on 22 swings against Sage, hitting .455, before going a perfect 6 for 6 against York. For his efforts, Rivera was named the UVC Rookie of the Week.
 
Halberg Heating Up
Junior middle hitter Erik Halberg (Newark, DE/Salesianum) has been very consistent all year for the Brewers, and was superb this past weekend. Halberg amassed nine kills on just 16 swings, hitting .438, while also totaling five aces. The junior moved up to sixth in the UVC, averaging 0.35 per set.
 
Up Next
If Vassar defeats Nazareth, the team will next face off against No. 2 New Paltz on Saturday, April 11 at 4:30 p.m. From there, the winner of that match will take on No. 1 Stevens, No. 4 NYU, or No. 5 Elmira in the championship game on Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.