POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 5, 2016) – The Vassar men's volleyball team finished off one of their best seasons in their 27-year history with a three-set win over Wells College this past weekend.  They will make the 15-mile trip east to New Paltz to take part in the highly anticipated UVC Tournament this weekend.  In the quarterfinals, the Brewers will take on No. 12 ranked NYU on Friday evening at 7:30 PM.  If they pass this first test, they will face off against No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday at 5PM.

Tournament Details
Opponent: vs. No. 12 New York University (13-13, 6-2 UVC) – UVC Tournament
Links:
(Tournament Website)
(Vassar's Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(NYU Men's Volleyball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: New Paltz, NY
Date: April 8, 2016
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

A Look At The No. 8 Brewers (23-6, 4-4 UVC)
The Brewers finish off the season as the sixth seed in the UVC for the second consecutive year, but they improved their overall record from 18-13 last year to 23-6 this year.  This has been in largely due to improved offensive efficiency and stellar defense at the net.  Vassar improved its hitting percentage from .221 last year to .281 this year.  The front row boasts 2.3 blocks/set, up from 1.8 last year.  These values were good for 11^th and 10^th in the country, respectively.  The Brewers also lead the UVC in opponent hitting percentage (.152).

One of the biggest factors in both of these categories has been sophomore middle hitter Matthew Knigge.  Knigge destroyed the old team records in hitting percentage (.511) and total blocks (127) and finished the regular season ranked third in the nation in hitting percentage and blocks/set (1.23).  Also rewriting the record books was Reno Kriz, moving into third place in program history with 1325 kills this season, as he looks to lead his team to the UVC title in his senior year. 

A Look At The No. 12 Violets (13-13, 6-2 UVC)
Though their record looks less than stellar, looks can be deceiving.  Violets have had the third most difficult schedule in the country this year, their opponents posting a .681 winning percentage.  They finished strong this weekend against Marymount College, taking three straight close sets, and enter the tournament as the three seed.  They are strong defensively, ranking in the top 15 nationally in blocks/set with 2.15.  However, they have struggled in their attack this year, ranking dead last in opponent blocks/set (2.2) and seventh in hitting percentage (.241) in conference play.

Any conversation about NYU's attack begins with senior captain Nick Benson.  He ranks seventh in the UVC in kills with 261 and sixth in service aces with 40.  On defense, sophomore Chase Corbett shines, with .92 blocks/set, which is good for fifth in the conference.  Vassar was able to handle the Violets pretty easily in their meeting last week, taking three straight sets by an average of over nine points.  Despite a somewhat disappointing non-conference season, NYU remains a force to be reckoned with.

A Look at the No. 3 Ducks
Should Vassar defeat NYU on Friday, they would meet the No. 2 seed, Stevens Institute on Saturday.  The defending national champions have followed up their 31-4 season with a 27-5 regular season record and a fourth place national ranking.  All of their five losses have come to top five teams, save a loss to the third ranked team in the NAIA, Grandview College (Iowa).  They rank seventh in the country in blocks/set with 2.37, sixth in hitting percentage at .301, and 13^th in aces/set with 1.93.  They come in at second in the conference in opponent blocks at only 1.37 per set.

The defending MVP of the NCAA tournament, Tim Ferriter comes into this weekend at ninth in the country in points/set with 4.47.  Joining him is a duo of outside hitters, Gabe Shankweiler and Chris Vaughan.  They have 276 and 277 kills respectively.  Stevens also sports the seventh leading blocker in the nation in Thomas Burrell who has 1.12 per set.  The Brewers faced off against the Ducks early in the season, losing in four sets.  Though Kriz was able to have his way, picking up 20 kills, the Stevens defense held strong as Thomas Burrell picked up 12 total blocks in the four tightly contested sets.  In the end, it was a frustrating day for the Brewers, as the lost the three sets by an average of 2.33 points.

A Look at the Rest of the UVC Tournament Field
The UVC is by far the best conference in Division III men's volleyball, as they sport six top 15 teams and a seventh (MIT) receiving top 15 votes.  Rounding out the top six are the top seed, No. 1 New Paltz, the fourth seed, No. 9 Nazareth, and the fifth seed, MIT.  The New Paltz Hawks have dominated this season, finishing a perfect 8-0 in the UVC and 28-2 overall.  They are coming off a victory over No. 2 Springfield College and are the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation.  The Nazareth Golden Flyers finished 5-3 in conference and 25-8 overall.  Their setter Jake Kemp ranks fourth in the country with 10.72 assists/set.  The MIT Engineers finished an even 4-4 in conference and 21-7 overall.  The winner of the UVC tournament will nab an at large bid into the NCAA tournament starting April 16^th.

Other Brewer Notes
- If the Brewers were to make it to the UVC final, their most likely opponent would be No. 1 New Paltz.  Last Saturday, March 26, the Brewers took the Hawks to five sets, showing they can hang with anyone in the country.
- The Brewers' 23 wins just three short of the program record set in 2008 when Vassar went 26-7 en route to a NECVA Championship.  It is only the third time the team has won over 20 games.
- The Brewers averaged only 1.5 aces/set in their first 21 games, but in their last eight, they have averaged 2.6.  The nation's leader in the category, New Paltz, averages 2.28 per set.
- Vassar held the NYU to a hitting percentage of .066 in their game last week.  This was the first time all season the Violets had been held to a percentage of below .100.
- George Diehl averaged .981 blocks/set in the last 14 games, after only recording .74 per set in the first 15.
- Trey Cimorelli has notched 246 digs with only 26 reception errors this year.
-Knigge set four team records during his phenomenal sophomore season: solo blocks (26), block assists (101), total blocks (127), and attack percentage (.511).