POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 8, 2017) – The No. 5 Brewers of Vassar College won the first two sets Wednesday evening in non-conference men's volleyball match, and survived to take the match in five grueling games as Vassar knocked off No. 9 Marymount University (VA) in non-conference play from Kenyon Hall. VC took the first two sets 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 33-35 and 15-12.
 
In the opening set, Vassar was great defensively while the Saints (12-4) had their struggles, hitting -.038 for the game. The Brewers connected on just eight kills, but the hitting efficiency and strong serving proved to be too much as VC took the early match lead. In the first set, Vassar posted six service aces.
 
The second game was much closer, as the visitors scored the first four points of the game, capping the early run on a kill from middle Graham Clark. Vassar slowly pulled back into the set, going on a 6-2 spurt midway through the stanza to deadlock the set at 17 following an ace by sophomore George Diehl.
 
After the teams alternated the next 10 points to make the score 22-22, Vassar would pull clear with the final three points of the set, taking the game on a block by Diehl and freshman Yoni Auerbach. The third set was a shootout, as both teams hit over .400, combining for 36 kills in the period. In fact, VC connected on a higher hitting rate than Marymount (.486-.441), but the 19 kills from the Saints including nine from TJ Wiechecki was the difference.
 
The fourth game was a marathon, a heart-pounding, non-stop stanza full of pressure-packed points. In fact, the winning score of 35 was the highest in a set featuring Vassar since VC fell to Lasell in a set 36-34 back on March 14, 2015, nearly two years ago. The Saints led for much of the game, taking their biggest edge of four at 9-5 after a kill by Shane Limbaugh.
 
The Brewers would rally, going on a 9-2 run from that point to take a 14-11 edge, again capped by an ace by Diehl. After a timeout, Marymount put a run of its own together, stringing together an 8-1 stretch to regain its four-point advantage. Not to be outdone, Vassar scored five of the next six points, tying the match at 20 on a block by junior Zechariah Lee, senior Christian Lizana and Diehl.
 
Vassar would earn its first of three match points at 26-25, but the Saints held on and away the two teams went for 17 more points. The Brewers looked like they had won the match at that point, but an attack over the net by Vassar was called to force extra time. In the end though, MU would even the match at two sets apiece after getting a finish by Tomasz Ksiazkiewicz and a solo block from Clark.
 
In the fifth set, Vassar would regain the momentum, and clinched the match at 14-12 as junior Matthew Knigge hammered down a kill to earn VC's sixth win this season over a ranked opponent, the third consecutive win in that category.
 
"Really pleased with the work our guys put in tonight," said head coach Richard Gary. "Playing during midterms can be a really scary time, but the guys managed to find their composure, work together for every point, and really earned a great victory tonight."
 
Knigge was strong for Vassar, posting a team-best 14 kills while adding five aces, three blocks while hitting .393. Lizana finished with 12 kills and no errors, hitting .571 while posting a double-double with 10 digs as well.
 
Senior libero Trey Cimorelli also had 10 digs for the Brewers, and Lee posted a season-high 50 assists to go with three aces, four assisted blocks and eight digs. Lee is now just one service ace shy of tying the school record in the category. Fellow senior Quinn Rutledge also had a good game, pounding down nine winners while adding three total rejections (one solo).
 
Diehl also finished with nine terminations, assisting on four blocks, and Auerbach completed the trio of players with nine kills, hitting .304 for the match while adding six digs. Vassar hit .301 (58-15-143) for the match, tying for a season-high in kills with 58. The hitting percentage was a season-best for a match played over five sets.
 
Wiechecki paced all hitters Wednesday with 29 kills, adding 11 digs, while libero Connor Choate finished with 23 digs in the back for the Saints. Marymount hit .235 for the evening, getting 10 kills as well from Clark and another double-double of 54 assists and 12 digs from Erich Bratke.
 
"Those third set numbers say it all - both teams hit over .400, sided out at 79% and 83%, and it was a really fun shootout from there up through the fantastic fourth set," said Gary. "My heart's still pounding from a few of those points, and at least once we thought we'd won the match, so for the guys to regain composure and continue the fight it was really special."
 
Vassar will get a few days off before returning to Kenyon Hall at 11 a.m. Saturday for a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) tri-match, hosting Nazareth College and No. 8 NYU in conference action.