POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 1, 2018) – The No. 10 Vassar College men's volleyball will look to snap a three-game losing skid this weekend, welcoming in SUNY Poly and fifth-ranked UC-Santa Cruz in Kenyon Hall Saturday afternoon.
 
Game Details 
Opponent: SUNY Poly (5-10) & No. 5 UC Santa Cruz (19-6)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Kenyon Hall
Date: March 3, 2018
Time: Noon
Schedule: Vassar vs. SUNY Poly (Noon); SUNY Poly vs. UCSC (2 pm); Vassar vs. UCSC (4 pm)
Live Coverage: (Live Video)( Live Stats)  
 
Last Time Out: The Brewers dropped their third straight contest on Tuesday evening, as Vassar fell to visiting Elms College in four games. VC took the opening set, but Elms rallied to pick up the final three sets en route to the upset victory. Senior Matthew Knigge posted a career-best 27 kills for Vassar, hitting .426 but it wasn't enough as Elms posted a .266 hitting clip behind 17 kills from Jeremy Torres.
 
A Look At The No. 10 Brewers (9-6):
 

• Vassar posted a season-best 61 kills on the evening against Elms College, but only managed one ace on the evening.
• VC registers a season-high 60 assists against the Blazers Tuesday, with 57 coming from senior Zechariah Lee.
• Despite hitting .226 for the match, Vassar chalked up hitting clips of .083 and .130 in the final two games against Elms.
• For the season, VC still ranks fourth in the nation and first in the UVC in blocks per set with 2.42 a game.
• The Brewers are hitting .256 as a squad this year, which is 17^th overall and fourth in the conference.
• Vassar is holding opposition to a .143 hitting clip, which is second-best in the United Volleyball Conference and 17^th overall.
• Freshman Ryan Duchemin has been strong at the net defensively, ranking 12^th nationally and fifth in the UVC in blocks per set with 1.06.
• Senior Matthew Knigge ranks fourth nationally in kills per set with 4.22, and is second in NCAA Division III in points per set with 5.2.
• The three-match losing stretch is the longest for Vassar since the 2015 season.

 
A Look at the Wildcats (5-10):
 

• The Wildcats are reeling currently, falling in six of their last seven matches with the lone win coming in a 3-0 win over Mount St. Vincent February 11.
• SUNY Poly had a stretch during the middle of the season where it won four straight matches. 
• SUNY Poly comes into the weekend with a hitting percentage of .179, which is 49^th overall and sixth-best in the NEAC.
• The Wildcats serve the ball well, averaging 1.57 service aces per set which ranks 32^nd nationally and fourth-best in their conference.
• SUNY Poly is led offensively by Ryan Gloff, as he posts 2.68 kills per set, which is ninth in the NECC.
• Teammate Max Szuba is also strong offensively with 2.43 terminations per game, while setter Zach Goggin is third in the NECC with 9.39 assists per game.
• Vassar is an unblemished 7-0 against the Wildcats all-time, last defeating SUNY Poly last year in Utica.

 
A Look at the No. 5 Banana Slugs (19-6):
 

• UC-Santa Cruz was recently ranked as the No. 5 team in the nation in the Top 15 AVCA Poll, voted on weekly.
• The Banana Slugs have dropped their last two matches to Marymount and Southern Virginia at Eastern Mennonite a few weeks ago, and haven't competed since February 17.
• The day before that, UCSC knocked off Juniata and Eastern Mennonite.
• Setter Evan Kittle makes things happen for the Banana Slugs, as he has dished out 9.84 assists per set, eighth-best in the country.
• UC Santa Cruz is a phenomenal defensive squad, posting 12.52 digs per game, best in Division III while also ranking eighth in blocks per set with 2.25.
• UCSC is also 13^th nationally in kills per set with 12.18, which is second in the country among independents.
• Vassar is 4-2 against UC Santa Cruz all-time, though the Banana Slugs earned a 3-0 win last year out in California.

 
Up Next: VC is back out on the road for three contests away from VC, taking on Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge next Saturday, March 10 at 3 p.m. before battling Stevenson University later in the day in Beantown at 5 p.m.