THOUSAND OAKS, CA (January 12, 2017) -- First-year Vassar College men's volleyball head coach Richard Gary earned his first victory at the help of the program Thursday evening, knocking off California Lutheran University in straight sets in action from Gibson Arena. VC earned the win with scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-22, moving to 1-1 on the young season. 

The No. 8 Brewers featured a balanced attack offensively, with four players posting five or more kills, while Vassar hit .239 for the contest as a team. In the opening set, the two teams battled back and forth, as the first game featured 10 tie scores. With the stanza tied at 12, VC chalked up a 5-2 run to take a 17-14 advantage. 

After a point by the host Kingsmen (0-2), the Brewers put together another 5-1 run capped by a pair of kills from junior setter Zechariah Lee to force a CLU timeout at 22-16. The hosts would pull to within three at 24-21, but sophomore George Diehl hammered down a kill to clinch the first set for the visiting Brewers. 

The second set saw Vassar burst out of the gates, earning nine of the game's first 11 points, capped by a kill from senior Christian Lizana. California Lutheran slowly crept back into the set, closing to within two at 18-16 after an attacking error by VC. The Brewers got another kill from Lee two points later to go back up by three, and Vassar held at least a three-point edge the rest of the set to earn a 2-0 match lead. 

In the third, CalLu would take the early advantage, leading by as many as three points on a pair of occasions, the latest coming at 7-4 after a kill of Kristian Gallardo. VC rallied with three straight points to knot the set at seven, and took its first lead at 9-8 after an attacking error by the Kingsmen. 

CLU would come back and tie the set at 13-all, but Vassar chalked up five straight points highlighted by a kill from senior Quinn Rutledge to take an 18-13 lead. The Brewers would fight off a late rally by the Kingsmen, as Diehl powered down a termination to clinch the win. 

Junior Matthew Knigge posted a team-best 10 kills on 16 attempts, as he finished with three blocks as well. Diehl finished with nine kills and four rejections, and Lizana also posted nine kills on 19 attacks in addition to a team-leading nine digs.

Lee had a strong all-around game with 31 assists, four digs, four kills and two blocks, and Rutledge added five kills and five digs. Senior Trey Cimorelli also chalked up six digs for VC, which totaled 39 kills on 92 attempts Thursday. 

Cal Lutheran saw three players with six kills, as Gallardo, Patrick Rowe and Kelly Jew all paced the attack for the hosts. CLU hit .153 for the contest, and posted a slight 32-29 edge in digs. Nick Shoemate added 27 assists and six digs, and Jamal Balkhi posted a match-high 11 digs as well. 

Vassar will finish its trip out west Saturday evening at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST, traveling up the coast to UC-Santa Cruz for a non-conference battle with the Banana Slugs.