POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 14, 2018) - The No. 12 Vassar College men's volleyball team is on the road this weekend, looking to continue its winning streak as it travels Hoboken, New Jersey to take on No. 7 NYU on Saturday and No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday. Last weekend the Brewers topped UVC opponents St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.
 
Game Details 
Opponent: NYU (5-2, 0-0 UVC)
Links: (NYU Homepage) (Schedule) (Roster) (Statistics)
Site: Hoboken, NJ
Facility: Canavan Arena
Date: February 17, 2018
Time: 1:30 PM
Live Coverage: (Live Video)(Live Stats)
 
Game Details 
Opponent: Stevens Institute of Technology (9-2, 0-0 UVC)
Links: (Stevens Homepage) (Schedule) (Roster) (Statistics)
Site: Cambridge, MA
Facility: Canavan Arena
Date: February 18, 2018
Time: 1:30 PM
Live Coverage: (Live Video)(Live Stats)
 
Last Time Out: Vassar comes into these matches off a double UVC win this weekend, starting strong by sweeping St. John Fisher in three sets on Saturday. The Brewers won the first set against Nazareth, which also saw senior Matthew Knigge's 1000^th kill, making him only the eighth player in program history to achieve such a milestone.
 
The Brewers faltered a little after the first set, dropping the second 21-25, but came back in the final two sets with the help of George Diehl, who contributed 10 kills and seven digs to the match, and Zechariah Lee, who posted 44 assists as well as four aces and seven digs to help the Brewers to victory.
 
A Look At The Brewers (8-3, 2-0 UVC):

• Vassar is currently ranked No.12 nationally and second in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC), just behind Elmira College.
• Vassar comes into the match Saturday evening with NYU averaging 12.10 kills per set, which ranks 15^th nationally and third in the UVC, while the team's 2.53 blocks per set ranks fifth in Division III and first in the UVC.
• Their season hitting percentage of .274 is eighth best in Division III.
• So far this season, Vassar ranks 13^th in Division III and first in the UVC in aces per set, posting 2.15 per set.
• Senior Matthew Knigge is third nationally and first in the UVC in points per set with 5.04, as well as 8^th nationally and second in the UVC in kills per set, with 3.89.
• Knigge also ranks 8^th in blocks per set in the country, while teammate Ryan Duchemin holds the 10^th place spot.
• Senior setter Zechariah Lee is also 15^th in the nation in assists per set with 9.54, and leads the team in service aces, with 24 under his belt, averaging 0.65 per set.
• Sophomore Kevin Ros currently sits second on the team in kills per set, averaging 2.32, and third in service aces; his 15 on the season comes just behind Knigge's 18 and Lee's 24
• Freshman libero Garth Verdeflor leads the team in digs per set, averaging 2.00 over the 38 sets he has appeared in this season.
• Junior George Diehl has five contests this season with eight or more kills, including a season-best 10 against Nazareth on February 11th.

 
A Look At The Violets (5-2, 0-0 UVC):

• The Violets enter their first conference matchups this weekend ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division III.
• NYU averages 2.16 blocks per set, fourth best in the UVC and 16^th in the country.
• The Violets' hitting percentage of .260 is fifth in the conference and 15^th in Division III.
• Sophomore Neil Ferraro has been a huge contributor to the team's standings in both categories, as he is personally ranked second in the conference and 6^th in the country in blocks per set, averaging 1.222, and 7^th in the UVC and 11^th nationally in hitting percentage with .400.
• Sophomore outside hitter Alex Li averages 3.80 points per game, leading his team and ranking fourth in the UVC.
• Li's 3.26 kills per set is also the highest on his team, and fifth in the conference.
• Six NYU players average at least 1 kill per set, including sophomore Evan Lindley, who sits third on his team in both kills per set (2.81), total kills (73), and sets played (26), and leads his team in service aces with 9 on the season, averaging 0.35 per set.

 
A Look At The Ducks (9-2, 0-0 UVC):

• Stevens comes into their first set of UVC contests this weekend ranked No. 2 in the country.
• The Ducks rank first in the conference and 6^th nationally in both kills and assists per set, averaging 12.69 kills and 11.83 assists in each set they've played this season.
• Stevens' season hitting percentage, at .330, is the best in the UVC and second best in the country, just behind No. 1 Springfield College.
• Junior Setter Jacob Patterson sits third in Division III in assists per set, averaging 10.73.
• Sophomore David Lehman's average 4.28 kills per set leads the team and conference, and is third highest in the country, while his 4.79 points per game puts him second in the UVC and fifth nationally.
• Senior middle hitter Thomas Burrell ranks first in both conference and Division III in hitting percentage, averaging .513 across the 32 sets he has played.
• Burrell also leads the conference and is second in the country in blocks per set, averaging 1.438.
• 11 Ducks have at least one kill per set on the season.

 
Against NYU All-Time: Vassar is 16-31 against NYU all-time, but beat them in all four of their last matchups. VC clinched a victory in four sets last time the Violets and Brewers went head-to-head in March 2017, with strong performances by dynamic duo Lee and Knigge—Knigge posted 15 kills and nine blocks, while Lee posted a team-best 37 assists, having also cemented his place as the all-time service ace leader in program history with his 144th earlier that day.
 
Against Stevens All-Time: The Brewers are 4-10 all-time against the Ducks, having won their last matchup exactly a year before their contest on Sunday, on February 18, 2017. Before that, Vassar hadn't beaten Stevens since 2010. Lee and Knigge were leaders in that match too, with Knigge posting 10 kills and 10 blocks and Lee notching three kills, 38 assists, eight blocks and eight digs.
 
Up Next: Vassar heads to Springfield, MA on Wednesday, February 21 to take on No. 1 Springfield College on their home turf.