NEW PALTZ, NY (October 26, 2016) – The Vassar College women's volleyball team spoiled the Senior Day festivities for the Hawks of New Paltz Wednesday evening, as the Brewers took an important regional non-conference match in straight sets in action from the Hawk Center. Vassar earned the win with scores of 25-20, 30-28 and 25-23.

The win over New Paltz was the first for the Brewers since the 2008, while the three-set victory marked the first time since 2002, a span of 17 matches. "It's always great to get a win in a longtime rival's gym, especially when it has been a while," said head coach Jonathan Penn. "We put together a very nice team effort with a lot of people contributing on both sides of the ball. Real solid win."

This season, the Brewers (19-9) have relied more on their offensive efficiency but tonight had to find other ways to get it done. Vassar hit just .198 for the match, compared to the .228 of New Paltz, but served well and made it difficult for New Paltz to get great swings. That's not to say that the Brewer offense was dormant, as the Brewer chalked up 44 kills on the night, the fifth-highest total of the year in a three-set win.

The first set started out well for the Brewers, who scored eight of the first nine points of the match to take an 8-1 lead after two consecutive aces from Jorden Schreeder. New Paltz (16-11) clawed back into the match, trimming the Vassar lead to two twice including at 22-20 after a kill by Morgan Roessler, but Schreeder chalked up another ace before New Paltz posted an attacking error to lift VC to a 1-0 match edge.

The second set was the longest set of the season for the Brewers, as the two teams combined for 58 points. VC led early at 7-3, but New Paltz rallied with four straight points to deadlock the set at seven. The game remained close, though Vassar regained a three-point advantage at 15-12 after another error by the Hawks.

That wasn't the end though for the hosts, who battled back to even the game at 15. The two teams each had runs, but New Paltz scored three straight late to make it 24-23 for set point. Freshman Jane McLeod posted back-to-back kills to give VC a chance to end the game, but Brittany Tyack pushed the set further with a kill for New Paltz.

The hosts had another set point at 28-27, but sophomore Devan Gallagher pounded down a kill followed by two more attacking errors by the Hawks to double Vassar's match lead to 2-0. Vassar chalked up 21 kills in the stanza, the most of any set this season.

The Brewers had to rally in the third set, as New Paltz led by as much as five at 9-4 after a kill by Anna Paulik. Vassar would go on a huge run, as it rallied with a 10-1 run to make the score 14-10 after a kill by sophomore Annie MacMillan. The hosts trimmed the VC lead to 24-23, but a service error by NP handed the Brewers the match in straight sets.

MacMillan had a banner day for Vassar, as she handed out 33 assists in addition to two aces, six digs and five kills. With her fourth assist on Wednesday, she became just the sixth ever setter at Vassar to eclipse the 1,000 set mark for a single season and the first since Rose Carman in 2013. She now sits with 1,029 for the year, which is the seventh-most in a year ever at Vassar. VC still has two matches guaranteed this season, as MacMillan could get as high as No. 3 on the list this year.

Vassar's standout sophomore Gallagher led the Brewers with 15 kills, hitting .324, while McLeod also totaled 11 kills on 33 attempts. Senior Sierra Tobin chalked up a match-best 16 digs Wednesday, and fellow senior Gabby Miller stuffed the stat sheed with seven kills, three total blocks and 12 digs. Junior Bria Corham added five terminations for VC, which hit .198 (44-18-131) for the night.

The Brewers will host Senior Day Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Kenyon Hall against Ramapo College, as the team will honor Miller, Tobin and Sarah Roberts for their contributions to the team in the regular season finale.  The game has postseason implications as well, as Ramapo is currently No. 3 in the region, while Vassar is ranked No. 5 in the New York region.