ROCHESTER, NY (October 14, 2017) – The Vassar College women's volleyball team kept their winning ways going strong on Saturday afternoon, earning a pair of non-conference victories over the University at Brockport and Springfield College to up its winning streak to 12 matches.
 
Vassar (20-3) earned a five-set victory of Brockport with scores of 25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 22-25 and 15-11, before rolling past Springfield in straight sets with scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 30-28. The 12-match win streak is now just eclipsed by 17-match stretch in 1993 and a 14-contest run in 1994. Also with the wins, Vassar earned the Brick City Invitational title with a perfect 3-0 mark, as the only team to go undefeated over the two-day tournament.
 
Vassar 3, Brockport 2
The Brewers held the strong offensive unit of Brockport to just .095 hitting on the contest, while attacking at a .220 rate to pick up a grueling five-set win over the Golden Eagles.
 
After the two teams split the first four sets, the squads went to the fifth set looking to earn the match. In the last game, each team earned five of the opening 10 points before Vassar went on a 6-1 run to take an 11-6 lead. Brockport came out of the timeout with three straight points to make it 11-9, but VC captured two of the next three points to earn match point at 14-10. The Golden Eagles got a kill from Jamie Schlesinger, but Vassar setter Annie MacMillan calmly ended the match with a dump kill.
 
It was business as usual for junior Devan Gallagher, who led all hitters in the match with 25 kills on 65 attempts, hitting .277 for the contest. Gallagher also posted 13 digs, while contributing a pair of blocks as well. Sophomore Jane McLeod pounded home 11 terminations, adding three total blocks, while Colette Cambey posted six kills and three rejections.
 
The middle hitters for Vassar were strong in the match, as Jenny Kerbs added four kills and five total blocks. MacMillan had an overall amazing match, posting a team-high 16 digs to go with 44 assists. Defensively, Lauren Ninkovich helped out with 15 digs, while libero Anna Zucchero chalked up 15 defensive saves as well.
 
The Brewers posted 55 kills for the match, while adding 10 total blocks and 72 digs. Brockport was paced by DeAnna Whittemore and her 19 kills, while Maddy Taylor finished with a match-best 28 digs. Noelle Poloncarz helped out with 17 digs, 44 assists and three kills.
 
Vassar 3, Springfield 0
Vassar kept its momentum from the early match going in the final contest of the weekend, as the Brewers posted 43 kills in just three sets to earn the victory. The key for Vassar was its ability to end points, holding a 10-kill edge over Springfield. The Brewers got 30 combined kills from the pairing of Gallagher and McLeod, as Gallagher led all hitters for the match with 17 terminations. McLeod was the most efficient of all the Brewer attackers, posting a .367 rate as Vassar hit .228 for the match.
 
MacMillan added another strong outing with 35 assists, six digs and three kills, while Cambey hammered down six kills to go with two blocks. Kerbs continued her strong blocking with five assisted rejections, and Gallagher and Zucchero led Vassar with 12 and 11 digs, respectively. Ninkovich also added eight defensive saves, and sophomore Jorden Schreeder finished with two aces and seven digs.
 
The win for Vassar was just its second over Springfield College ever, with the last coming in 2006 at the MIT Invitational.
 
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Vassar will look to build on its winning streak this upcoming weekend when it hops back into Liberty League play, taking on St. Lawrence University Friday evening in Canton, NY at 7 p.m. before battling Clarkson University Saturday, October 21 at 1 p.m. in Potsdam, NY in the final conference match of the season.