POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 25, 2016) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team, coming off its second United Volleyball Conference loss of the season Tuesday at No. 12 NYU, will look to regain its footing this Saturday, heading to Springfield College for a tri-match with the host Pride and Lasell College in non-conference action.

Game Details
Opponent: at No. 1 Springfield College (17-1)
Links:
(Vassar's Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(Springfield Men's Volleyball Home Pages) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Springfield, MA
Facility: Blake Arena
Date: February 27, 2016
Time: 2 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

Opponent: vs. Lasell College (9-7)
Links:
(Vassar's Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(Lasell Men's Volleyball Home Pages) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Springfield, MA
Facility: Blake Arena
Date: February 27, 2016
Time: 4 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
What To Watch For
The Brewers will try their luck for the second time against the Pride of Springfield College, who have won 16 straight matches and look like one of the top contenders at the NCAA Division III title this season. Springfield is always tough to play, but beating the Pride in Blake Arena has proved to be even more difficult. Over the past three seasons, Springfield is 39-5 on its home court including posting an unblemished 6-0 mark at home this year. Things will not get any easier in the second match of the day, as Lasell has lost seven matches but all seven were against teams in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll.

A Look At The Pride (17-1)
The nine-time NCAA Champions will look to continue their winning ways this weekend, coming into the match with Vassar on Saturday with a nation-best 16 match-winning streak. Over the last seven matches, Springfield has earned wins in straight sets in six of those, with the lone exception coming in a five-set win over Stevenson February 20. Springfield's offense ranks as one of the best in the NCAA so far this year, as it has hit over .300 in every match except one, its loss at Concordia on January 16. Since then, the Pride have tallied at least 40 kills in 13 contests. As a team, Springfield ranks first in assists per set with 12.43, while also posting the second-most kills a game with 13.19. The Pride winning percentage of .944 tops all of NCAA men's volleyball.

Multiple members of the Springfield personnel litter the NCAA leaderboard, led by setter Luis Garcia Rubio, who is tops in the country in assists per game with 11.53. It helps when you have the stable of monsters up front that Rubio does, as Luis Vega is eighth in kills per set with 3.83, while also ranking eighth in hitting with a .425 clip. Ricardo Padilla Ayala is 17^th in hitting percentage, and Greg Woods ranks 17^th in Division III with 3.55 kills a set. Newcomer Julian Welsh-White, who played at Division I Ball State before his transfer to Springfield, averages over a block per set and three other net players for SC rank in the top 100 in blocks a game. Ayala is 15^th nationally in aces per game, and Joseth Irizarry Feliciano also helps defensively at the net for Springfield.

Against Springfield All-Time
The Brewers have taken on Springfield 41 previous times in the series history, and the Pride have earned all but two of those 41 outings. Vassar's first win came in 2001, with its only other victory coming in 2002. Since then, VC has dropped its last 25 matches with the Pride, including a four-set loss earlier this year in Kenyon Hall.

A Look At The Lasers (9-7)
The Lasers haven't been afraid of playing some of the best teams in the nation this year, as they come into the weekend with the 14^th most difficult schedule played thus far. As of now, Lasell is slated to play the sixth-hardest slate in Division III this year. Lasell has had some nice wins this year already, including wins over Endicott College and Wentworth Institute of Technology. As a team, the Lasers are hitting at a .280 clip, which ranks them second in their conference and 11^th overall national. Lasell has averaged 2.02 aces per set so far, good for 14^th in D-III, while its 11.19 assists per set are also ranked No. 14 on the national listing.

The go-to player on offense is most certainly Jeff Vautrin, who leads the nation in kills per set with 3.98, while ranking second in points per set with 5.00. The dynamic outside hitter also posts 0.83 aces a game, as the team has fed the senior 350 attempts this year. Teammate Patrick MacDonald has actually had more swings with 368 so far, and has done well with them, chalking up a team-best 173 terminations. Ryan Jackson and Tristan Davis each have accumulated over 100 kills as well, while Andrew Glenn and his 555 helpers control the offense. Freshman Jordan Aprea has performed well at libero, averaging over two digs a set, cleaning up 116 attacks so far.

Against Lasell All-Time
Vassar is 1-1 against Lasell in the previous two matches, as Vassar fell to the Lasers in four games last season at MIT. In the only other match in 2011, Vassar knocked off Lasell in four sets.

Offense On Track
The Vassar College men's volleyball team has struggled offensively in its last three matches, not hitting over .300 during any of them. Prior to that stretch, Vassar had started the season with seven matches over .200.

Under 40
The Brewers have gone an impressive 10-0 this season when holding teams to under 40 kills for a match.

Need More Than One
Vassar's serve receive lately has been great, as it has allowed just seven aces over its last four matches.

Use The Force Lee
Sophomore setter Zechariah Lee has put his soft hands to use over this season, as he has been whistled for just five ball handling errors all campaign.

Heading To Reno
Senior Reno Kriz continues to sparkle for the Brewers on the right side, as he has 173 kills so far this season. That number leads Vassar, while he has chalked up double-digit finishes in all but one match this year.

No Sweeps
The Brewers have dropped three matches this year, but in all three they have battled to at least win one game before falling.

Three Is Me
Vassar is 7-0 in 2016 when the match finishes in straight sets.

Quick Starters
Vassar has played 14 first sets this season so far, and has chalked up a strong 12-2 record in the opening stanza.

Feed The Big Fella
Sophomore Matt Knigge has been averaging 15 swings per match this season, which is second on the team, while his hitting percentage of .493 is third-highest in Division III so far.

Up Next
Vassar College will travel to The Sage Colleges Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the Albany campus in non-conference play from Kahl Gymnasium.