POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 27, 2018) – Despite an early win in the first set and a match-wide offensive domination, the Brewers fell 3-1 to Elms College in non-conference play at home in Poughkeepsie Tuesday evening.
 
The No. 10 Brewers got off to a strong start, winning the first set 25-21 thanks to 16 kills for the Brewers, fourteen of which were assisted by senior Zechariah Lee—the only two he didn't get the assist on were the two he scored himself. However, Elms came back with a vengeance, and took the following three sets 25-22, 25-21, and 25-23 to win the day at 3-1.

The Brewers stayed ahead of the Blazers for the first part of the final set, at one point leading 16-7, and it looked like the match might have to go to a fifth set; but the Blazers turned it around and, after trading a few more points with Vassar, ultimately came out on top.
 
Vassar was able to keep the scores in the last three sets relatively close, due in large part to the fact that they dominated the match offensively, logging 61 kills, 60 assists, and 146 attempted attacks. Matthew Knigge accounted for a match-high 27 kills and 47 attack attempts, as well as a match-high attack percentage of .426. Strong performances also came from sophomore Kevin Ros and junior George Diehl, who had 10 and 9 kills and 32 and 26 attack attempts respectively.
 
However, Elms had the defensive edge, logging 43 digs and 18 total blocks, compared with the Brewers' 41 digs and 10 total blocks. Elms' Audrye Alejandro and Vassar's Garth Verdeflor tied for the match-high 12 digs, while four Blazers had three or more block assists.
 
With this loss, the Brewers move to 9-6 on the season while Elms moves up to 11-3.
 
Tune in for some more non-conference action this Saturday, March 3 to watch the Brewers take on the SUNY Poly Wildcats at 12 p.m. and the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz at 4 p.m. at home in Kenyon Hall.