UNION, NJ (January 28, 2017) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team started its day's festivities at the Clash at Kean with a bang, rallying from down two sets to earn a thrilling five-set win over No. 14 Rivier University. VC won with scores of 12-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21 and 16-14, falling to Eastern Mennonite University in the nightcap, 25-19, 18-25, 13-25, 25-20, 15-13.

Vassar 3, Rivier 2
The Vassar College men's volleyball team rallied from down two sets, and twice fended off rallies by Rivier in the fifth to earn a thrilling 3-2 win over No. 14 Rivier University Saturday.

The Brewers (5-3) struggled to get going in the match, as Rivier hit .458 in the opening set to take the early match lead. Vassar trailed by just one at 6-5 after a kill from senior co-captain Christian Lizana, but Rivier chalked up an 11-1 run to take control of the set. During the run, the Brewers were their own worst enemies, as they posted five hitting errors.

In the second set, VC opened the game with a 3-1 lead and continued to lead at 6-5 after a kill from sophomore George Diehl. The Raiders (1-3) stormed back, growing their lead up to six on three occasions, the latest at 24-18 after a kill from Grant Andler. Following a timeout, VC trimmed the Raider lead to two at 24-22, highlighted by two Lizana finishes but it wasn't enough as Ian Wolski ended the Brewer comeback bid.

The third set was a different story though for the Brewers, who led from start to finish in the stanza. VC led by as many as eight points at 22-14, following a Lizana ace, which was the Brewer's third of the game. Freshman Yoni Auerbach had three kills in the game, while Zechariah Lee dished out seven helpers.

In the fourth, Vassar pulled the match event at two games thanks to an attack that was unstoppable. The Brewers totaled 18 winners in the set, as Lizana pounded down five terminations in the game. Matthew Knigge, Diehl, Auerbach and Quinn Rutledge also had three each, while Lee had a massive solo block to put VC up 22-17. Diehl would end the game for Vassar, hammering down a set from Lee to level the match at two games apiece.

In the fifth set, the game went back and forth with two long runs by both teams. Vassar opened with nine of the first 11 points of the game but Rivier responded with seven consecutive points to tie the set at nine. VC grew its lead back up to 13-10 following a kill from Lee, but the Raiders once again responded with three straight points to tie the game at 13.

After a timeout, Rivier got a kill from Andler and VC saw Rutledge pound one down to make the score 14-14. Following an attacking error from Andler, Vassar got its first match point at 15-14 and made it count as Knigge and Auerbach stuffed a Wolski attempt to complete the comeback and earn the win.

The difference of the match was Vassar's defensive efforts in the final three games, holding Rivier to only 24 kills over the final three sets, hitting .000 for both the third and fifth games. Vassar on the other hand saw its attack come to life in the third set, hitting .562, followed by .400 in the fourth game to set up the comeback.

Lizana finished with a team-best 15 kills for the Brewers, as he hit .343 on the match, adding eight digs and three assisted blocks. Rutledge, a fellow senior, nearly chalked up a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs, while Auerbach added a career-best eight winners.

Lee finished with 46 helpers on the match, adding six digs and six total blocks, and Knigge had eight total rejections to go with his nine kills. Five players had over eight kills for VC, as Diehl also contributed nine kills as well for VC, which hit .243 (58-21-152) for the match. Senior Trey Cimorelli continued his strong play in the back, adding 13 digs while upping his double-digit dig streak to four.

Andler posted a match-best 16 kills for Rivier, while Wolski added a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs. Setter Tyler Blank was strong all-around with 42 assists, 12 digs and four blocks, and libero Garrett Bucklin registered a match-high 17 digs. 

Eastern Mennonite 3, Vassar 2
The Brewers led 2-1 after three games, but the long day and exhausting first match of the day took its toll as the Royals of Eastern Mennonite came back to defeat the Brewers in five games. In what was an even match that featured 31 ties and 13 lead changes, EMU was able to outlast the Vassar.

EMU (4-3) held Vassar to just eight kills in the first set, hitting .222 for the first game to take a match edge. VC bounded back in the second game to supply a .417 hitting clip, while siding out at a 78 percent rate to tie the match at one game apiece.

In the third game, EMU led by two at 7-5, but the Brewers posted 10 of the next 12 points to take a 15-9 lead. Vassar continued to add to its lead by suffering just one attacking error all set to take a 2-1 match advantage.

The fourth set was nip and tuck, as EMU led by as many as four at 12-8 but VC rallied to tie the game at 12 after a block from Lee and Diehl. The Royals went on another 6-1 run to take an 18-13 lead, and led by at least three the rest of the way. In the final set,  both teams left it on the court, as the game featured seven tie scores. The latest came at 12-all, but EMU scored three of the final four points to take the match in comeback fashion.

Knigge finished with 11 kills, four digs and four assisted blocks, while Auerbach once again set a career-high with 11 kills, adding four total blocks. Both Auerbach and Knigge earned Clash at Kean All-Tournament Team accolades for their play. Rutledge posted 10 kills, six digs and four blocks as well, and Cimorelli chalked up a match-best 15 digs. Diehl led the Brewers with eight total blocks, while VC finished with 15.5 rejections for the match. Lee contributed five of those blocks, adding three aces and 41 assists on top of that.

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The Brewers will have six days off before taking on New York University Friday evening at 8 p.m. at Springfield College in the Hall of Fame Classic.