POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 13, 2017) – The No. 8 Brewers open United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play this Saturday in a tri-match with No. 3 Stevens and Elmira College.  The Ducks and the Soaring Eagles will face off in the opener, followed by a matchup between Stevens and Vassar at 1:30 PM.  The afternoon will conclude with a face-off between Vassar and Elmira at 4 PM.

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Stevens Institute of Technology
Links: (Stevens Home Page)(Roster)(Schedule)(Statistics)
Site: Elmira, NY
Facility: Speidel Gymnasium
Date: February 18, 2017
Time:  1:30 pm
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

Opponent: Elmira College
Links: (Elmira Home Page)(Roster)(Schedule)(Statistics)
Site: Elmira, NY
Facility: Speidel Gymnasium
Date: February 18, 2017   
Time: vs. 4:00 pm
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
A Look at the No. 8 Brewers (10-5):

• Vassar is coming off a 4-0 weekend at the Vassar Invitational with wins over Johnson & Wales, Stevenson, Ramapo, and College of Mount Saint Vincent.  They dropped only two sets in the four matches.
• Junior Matthew Knigge took home UVC Athlete of the Week Honors for his 38 kills, seven aces, and 23 blocks this past weekend.  He leads Vassar in kills (130), hitting percentage (.365), service aces (19), and total blocks (68).
• Knigge leads the nation in blocks/set with 1.26, edging out Nick Timreck from Dominican (IL) who sits at 1.25.  As a team, Vassar ranks second in the country with 2.62 per set.
• Senior Christian Lizana had a big weekend as well, notching a game-high 14 kills against Stevenson.  He has the second most kills for the Brewers with 125 on the season.
• The Brewers have excelled in the always important second set of matches, going 12-3 and outscoring their opponents 348-294 thus far.
• Senior libero Trey Cimorelli leads the UVC in digs per set with 2.73.  He has dug out 139 attacks on the year.
• Cimorelli continues his quest to become only the second player in program history with over 1000 digs, as the star backrow player has 970 going into the weekend.

A Look at the No. 3 Ducks (10-0):

• Stevens enters the weekend ranked third in the country.  They made it all the way to the NCAA semifinal last season, losing to the eventual champion New Paltz.
• The Ducks have not lost a first set to this point, losing only two second sets, and a single third set.
• The undefeated record is no mirage; Stevens has taken down five ranked opponents and clashes with No. 9 NYU this Wednesday.
• The Ducks have been efficient on offense, leading the UVC in hitting percentage (.339).  Star senior Gabe Shankweiler leads in the individual category with a mark of .425.
• They have held opponents to the lowest hitting percentage of UVC teams at .124.  Senior Jordan Stuart, who has picked up 26 total blocks on the year, leads the Ducks on the defensive front.
• Stevens is only a year removed from winning a national title, as the Ducks won the 2015 NCAA Championship on their home floor two seasons ago.

A Look at the Soaring Eagles (4-11):

• Elmira has really struggled against ranked opponents so far, with a record of 1-6 so far.  Their lone victory came against now unranked Rutgers on January 20.
• The Eagles are coming off a 3-1 weekend at the Elmira invitational, taking down Southern Vermont, D'Youville, and The Sage Colleges in three sets apiece, while dropping the final match to No. 15 Lasell in straight sets.
• The service ace has been a bright spot for Elmira, as they sit at second in the UVC in that category (1.61/set).  Junior Ryan McDonough has carried a bulk of the weight with 20 on the year.
• McDonough also leads the team with 153 kills, though his hitting percentage sits a few of ticks below .200.
• Fellow Junior Matthew Buffum sits in fifth in the UVC with a hitting percentage of .388.  He has finished off 138 kills this season.
• The Soaring Eagles have taken a while to settle into matches, dropping 10 of 15 first sets and 10 of 15 second sets.  They have seen success in third sets, however, snatching 8 of their 15.

Up Next: The Brewers will head home for a seven game home stand after this Saturday.  Their next match will be on Wednesday, February 22 at 6 PM against No. 1 Springfield College.