POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 5, 2015) – The Vassar College women's volleyball team opened its home slate Saturday afternoon, taking a pair of matches with sweeps of the University of New England and Lehman College in a non-conference tri-match held in Kenyon Hall. UNE earned the middle match of the day in three sets over Lehman College.

Vassar 3, University of New England 0
The Brewers held the Nor'Easters (0-1) to negative hitting in their first match of the day, as the strong block and stout back row play propelled Vassar to a three-set win with scores of 25-18, 25-13 and 25-22.

In the opening set, the Brewers scored the first four points and held a lead until UNE tied the score at 10 after an attack error by VC. Vassar though used a 6-1 spurt to take an 18-13 advantage, cruising to the 25-18. In the set, senior Chloe Hallum (Olympia, WA/Olympia) chalked up a game-best five off Vassar's 21 digs.

In the second game, the Nor'Easters took five of the first six points, but Vassar rallied to tie the match at eight after a block by Sophia Tiajoloff (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) and Gabby Miller (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon). All of this came during a 13-0 run for the Brewers that saw VC turn an 8-6 deficit into a 19-8 edge, as Vassar earned the 25-13 win.

In the final set, Vassar again fell behind 5-1 but battled back to take a 6-5 lead after a kill from sophomore Alex Sams (Anthem, AZ/Beverly Hills). With the match tied at 10 apiece, Vassar strung together four straight points, never again relinquishing the lead in closing out the match.

The Brewers were led offensively by freshman Devan Gallagher (San Francisco, CA/Urban School of San Francisco), who chalked up eight kills on 21 swings, adding four total blocks. Miller added six kills, five blocks and a team-best 11 digs, while Hallum finished with 10 digs in the win. Vassar hit .106 (26-16-94) for the match, but finished with 10 total blocks. Freshman Annie MacMillan (Colorado Springs, CO/Coronado) posted 16 assists for VC.

University of New England hit -.009 (29-30-113) on the contest, as Brittany Morrison had a match-best 13 digs and Grayson Szczepaniak added a contest-best 12 terminations.

Vassar 3, Lehman 0
The Brewers were never threatened in the final match of the afternoon, as VC again held its opponent to negative hitting while posting 39 kills in the victory. The 39 kills were the most so far in a match this season for the Brewers, who earned the win in three sets 25-16, 25-9 and 25-18.

In the opening set, Gallagher went off at the net for the Brewers, as she finished with six kills on 11 attempts. During the stanza, Lehman (1-3) held a 6-4 lead, but a 15-2 run by the hosts helped Vassar pull away in the period.

The second period was much like the first, as Vassar pounded out a match-best 14 kills, led by the five from sophomore Bria Corham (Kansas City, MO/Montville Township). Miller helped Corham offensively, as she finished with six service aces in the period to help VC to a 25-9 win.

In the final set, the Brewers finished with their best hitting percentage of any set on the afternoon, posting a .290 percentage in rolling to a 25-18 set victory. In the period, Gallagher posted five more kills, while Corham chalked up another four terminations to finish with 10 on the match.

Gallagher once again had a team-high in the kill category, chalking up 13 on just 25 attacks. Corham hit a very strong .450 (10-1-20) against the Lightning, while Miller finished with seven kills, six aces, eight digs and three blocks. Sams added five kills, and junior captain Sierra Tobin (Santa Cruz, CA/Santa Cruz) held the team lead with 13 digs. MacMillan and Tiajoloff combined to hand out 32 assists for VC.

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The Brewers will return to Kenyon Hall Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. to take on No. 18 Williams College in non-conference action.