POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 9, 2018) - The Vassar College men's volleyball team will look to build on its four-set victory Saturday over St. Joseph's College of Long Island, traveling to Cambridge, Massachusetts to take on St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College for the first UVC action of the season. The Brewers split a non-conference tri-match on Saturday at home, as VC knocked off SJC-LI after falling to No. 1 Springfield College in straight sets.
 
Game Details
Opponent: St. John Fisher College (6-4, 0-0 UVC)
Links: (St. John Fisher Home Page)( Schedule)( Roster)( Statistics)  
Site: Cambridge, MA
Facility: Rockwell Cage
Date: February 10, 2018
Time: 6PM
Live Coverage: (Live Video)( Live Stats)
 
Game Details
Opponent: Nazareth College (6-4, 0-0 UVC)
Links: (Nazareth Home Page)( Schedule)( Roster)( Statistics)    
Site: Cambridge, MA
Facility: Rockwell Cage
Date: February 11, 2018
Time: 11AM
Live Coverage: (Live Video)( Live Stats)  
 
Last Time Out: The Brewers needed four sets to get past the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's College of Long Island last Saturday evening. After dropping the first set 26-24, Vassar rallied behind the arm of senior Matthew Knigge, who hammered home 18 kills while adding seven blocks and five digs as well. The Brewers also got 14 kills from sophomore Kevin Ros, as VC hit .304 over the match thanks to 48 assists from senior setter Zechariah Lee.
 
A Look At The Brewers (6-3):

• Vassar comes into the match Saturday evening with St. John Fisher College averaging 12.30 kills per set, which ranks 10^th nationally and second in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC).
• The season hitting percentage of .274 is eighth best as well in Division III.
• So far this season, Vassar ranks 10^th in Division III and first in the UVC in aces per set, posting 2.12 per set.
• Senior Matthew Knigge is third nationally and first in the UVC in points per set with 4.93.
• Knigge also ranks 10^th in blocks per set in the country, while coming in at 12^th in kills per set.
• Senior setter Zechariah Lee is also 14^th in the nation in assists a game with 9.67.
• VC has dominated the second set this season, going 8-1 in the second game this year with the only loss coming Saturday against Springfield.
• Freshman Garth Verdeflor has posted double-digit digs in two of his last three matches, including posting a career-high 14 against SJC-LI Saturday.
• Junior George Diehl has four contests this season with eight or more kills, including a season-best 10 against Johnson & Wales University January 20.
• Eight players on the Vassar team are currently posting at least one kill per set.

A Look At The Cardinals (6-4):

• St. John Fisher College comes into this match at 6-4, falling to Medaille College in the fifth set on Tuesday.
• Outside hitter Ben De La Cruz leads the team's offense with 3.16 kills per set and 118 points.
• The Cardinals rank 14^th in the country in blocks per set.
• Freshman setter Paul Hackford has 7.50 assists per set, as well as 270 assists total.
• In St. John Fisher's six wins, only one match has gone to five sets and two matches were won in straight sets.

A Look At The Golden Flyers (6-4):

• Nazareth College comes into this UVC matchup at 6-4, having fallen to Elmira 2-3 on Wednesday.
• Outside hitter Zachary Gillard leads the squad in kills with 114 and in kills per set with 2.78.
• Sophomore middle blocker Sean Dillon leads the Golden Flyers in blocks with 26.0. He ranks 39^th in Division III in blocks.
• The Golden Flyers come into the game with 481 kills, 19 more than their opponent kill count.
• Senior setter Jake Kemp ranks 4^th in the UVC and 15^th in the nation in assists per set with 9.54.
• Sophomore outside hitter-libero Luis Vazquez is 7^th in the UVC in digs per game, with 2.18.

Against St. John Fisher All-Time: Vassar has never played against St. John Fisher.
 
Against Nazareth All-Time: Vassar is 5-15 against Nazareth all-time, after winning the last two matchups against them. Before that, the Brewers' last win against the Golden Flyers was in 2010. The Brewers won 3-1 in the last matchup, with Knigge posting 13 kills and Trey Cimorelli chalking up 18 digs. Lee finished the match with an impressive 46 assists.
 
Up Next: Vassar heads south to Hoboken, NJ for some more exciting UVC play, squaring up against New York University on February 17 at 1:30PM and Stevens Institute of Technology on February 18 at 1:30PM.