NEW PALTZ, NY (April 9, 2016) – The No. 8 Vassar College men's volleyball team took the first set in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament semifinals Saturday evening against No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology, but the second-seeded Ducks rallied back to earn a 3-1 win over the Brewers in action from the Hawk Center on the campus of New Paltz.

With the win, Stevens (28-5) moves on to take on top-seeded and No. 1 New Paltz in the UVC Championship match at 2 p.m. The Brewers will now wait and see if their amazing season will continue, as the release of the NCAA Tournament selections is released Monday morning. If Vassar isn't selected, the season will finish with 24 wins, the second-most in school history.

Vassar came out with energy in the first set, leading for the majority of the opening set until Stevens tied the game at 15 on a kill by Tim Ferriter. After trading points to make the score 19-19, VC chalked up three straight points to take a 22-19 lead. With the score 23-21, Vassar got to set point with a kill from freshman George Diehl, who then finished the set three points later with another kill to give the Brewers an early lead.

In the second set, Stevens' offensive firepower came to life, chalking up 16 kills while hitting .519 to even the match at one game apiece. The momentum continued to sway towards the Ducks in the third set, as Vassar finished the game with just six kills in leading from start to finish in the game. In the third set, VC got as close as 22-19, but three straight points from the Ducks pushed them in front 2-1.

Stevens jumped out quick in the fourth set 8-3, but Vassar battled back to make it a two-score contest at 10-8 after another kill from Diehl. The Ducks grow their lead back up to seven at 19-12 and would lead by as many as six to pull away for the win and a spot in the UVC title match.

If Saturday was Vassar's final match of 2016, it will say goodbye to one of the all-time greats at Vassar College in senior Reno Kriz. The right side led all Vassar hitters with 11 kills against Stevens, posted four blocks as well. Kriz finished his stellar career at VC third all-time in terminations with 1352, while playing in the most sets and matches of anyone ever to dawn the burgundy and gray.

Sophomore Matthew Knigge totaled nine finishes and three total blocks Saturday, and Zechariah Lee passed out 34 assists in addition to his seven digs. Junior Trey Cimorelli led the Brewers with eight digs, and Diehl posted eight terminations and six assisted rejections. Junior Quinn Rutledge also posted seven kills for the Brewers, who failed to post a service ace in a match for the first time all season.

Stevens got 15 kills from Chris Vaughan, while Ferriter led all scorers on the evening with 18 finishes in addition to his 11 digs. Gabe Shankweiler added 12 kills and 10 digs for the Ducks, who hit .294 (60-23-126) on the night.