POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 11, 2017) – The Vassar College men's volleyball team upped its winning streak to four matches on Saturday afternoon, as the Brewers topped Ramapo College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent in action from the Athletics and Fitness Center in Day 2 of the 2017 Vassar Invitational. VC topped Ramapo 27-25, 25-17 and 25-13, finishing the day with a 25-21, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-19 win over the Dolphins.
 
Vassar 3, Ramapo 0
Defense was the name of the game for the Brewers in Saturday's opening match, chalking up 12.5 blocks while forcing the Roadrunners into 24 errors and .034 hitting in earning the straight set win.
 
Junior Matthew Knigge was a big part of the defensive effort for the Brewers, as he posted eight total blocks (seven assisted) to go with eight kills on the day. Fellow junior Zechariah Lee continued to do a little bit of everything for the Brewers, handing out a match-high 25 assists while finishing with seven assisted blocks, two service aces and four digs.
 
Sophomore George Diehl had one of his best offensive days of the season on Saturday against the Roadrunners, as he powered down nine terminations on 12 attempts, hitting .583 along the way. Freshman Yoni Auerbach also added eight kills, five digs and two blocks, while senior Quinn Rutledge chalked up five winners, four digs and two assisted rejections.
 
The first set was back and forth, as it featured eight tie scores and three lead changes as it went to extra points. Ramapo (7-4) led for much of the early part of the first game, trailing by as many as five at 13-8 after a kill by RC's Jordan Elam. After a timeout, the Brewers slowly started to get back into the match and eventually tied the game at 20 on a kill from Knigge.
 
The two teams traded points over the next 10 contested serves, ending up tied at 25 after kill from Diehl. With the serve, Vassar got a termination from Rutledge followed by an ace by Diehl to earn the first set.
 
The second game was much different, as VC led by as many as nine points during the stanza while hitting .250 to claim a two-game edge. The final set of the match was again all Vassar, and in turn, saw the Roadrunners unravel. Ramapo barked at the officials all set, and even was penalized a point after getting a red card, as the Brewers pulled away for the 25-13 win while clinching the match.
 
Justin Feigeles led the Roadrunners with 10 kills and nine digs, while setter Garrett Fitzsimmons posted 21 assists and seven digs.
Vassar 3, CMSV 1
The Brewers chalked up another 10.5 blocks in the fourth and final match of the weekend against Mount Saint Vincent, and tallied 45 total kills to pick up a four-set win. Rutledge turned out to be the star for VC against CMSV, as he led the team with 11 kills, six digs and four assisted blocks.
 
Rutledge also hit .421 for the match, which was his best percentage of the season, while the 11 kills matched a season-best. Lee chalked up 37 helpers, two aces, seven digs and three total blocks as well for VC, and Knigge posted another dominant performance in the middle with a nine kill, three ace, five block outing. Knigge's .750 hitting clip was his highest of the 2017 season.
 
Junior Brian Manley added seven winners as well, and Diehl hammered down six kills as one of five players with six or more finishes. Another one of the balanced attackers for VC was Auerbach, as the newcomer registered seven kills. Freshman Kevin Ros was the libero for VC in the second match, and posted six digs.
 
VC hit .471 in the opening period, as Manley hammered down six to lead the Brewers. In the stanza, Vassar led by five at 17-12 after an ace by Knigge, but CMSV rallied to bring the score to within one at 17-16 after a kill from Logan Dickover. VC would end up pulling away for the win, clinching the set on a Dolphin attacking error.
 
The Brewers and Dolphins would trade the next two sets, as VC took a 2-1 lead into the fourth set. In the fourth, Vassar hit .382 on a match-best 15 terminations to roll to the win. The big stretch for VC came at 13-all, as Vassar chalked up five consecutive points, two on Auerbach kills, to grab and hold the lead for good.
 
Mount St. Vincent's Tyler Cucullu finished with a match-best 22 terminations in the contest, adding seven digs as well. Dickover led the Dolphins with 29 assists, and Jordan Steiger led all players with 10 digs.
 
"It was really good to come back home and get back into the groove with things, and I really feel like we did that this weekend," said Lee.
 
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Vassar will travel to Elmira, NY on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 p.m. to take on No. 3 Stevens Institute of Technology and host Elmira College in the United Volleyball Conference openers for the Brewers.