NEW YORK (April 15, 2018) -- The Vassar College men's volleyball team played in its first United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament final Sunday afternoon against top-seed Stevens Institute of Technology, but the Brewers were denied their first UVC conference crown as the Ducks earned the three-set win with scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19 in action from the Hunter Sportsplex. 

With the victory, Stevens (25-4) earned the UVC's automatic qualifying bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament while chalking up its second UVC championship in school history. The Brewers (22-7), currently ranked No. 3 in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, will have to wait until the NCAA Selection Show at 10 a.m. Monday morning to see if they earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last two seasons. 

Stevens was very strong offensively throughout the entire match, hitting .429 as a team, as it solved VC's blocking attempts as the Brewers finished with just two total blocks. VC hit over .300 in each of the opening two sets, but the Ducks posted only four errors over the first two games. 

The Brewers were in the first set, tying the first stanza at 15-all after a kill from Kevin Ros, but Stevens responded with a kill from Gabe Shankweiler and an ace from the eventual Tournament MVP to take an 18-15 lead. The Brewers got to within two twice, the latest coming at 20-18 after an ace from Zechariah Lee, but Cooper Diamond clinched the set for Stevens with a kill. 

The second set saw Vassar lead for much of the early going, holding its latest lead at 8-7 after a kill from sophomore Zach Bygall. The Ducks rallied back with a 6-0 run before junior George Diehl ended the spurt for Stevens with a kill to make the score 13-9. VC pulled to within two at 18-16 after a termination from senior Matthew Knigge, but the Ducks pulled away late to double their lead. 

In the third set, Vassar's offense couldn't keep up with the "hosts," as the top-seeded Ducks took advantage of Vassar's eight errors to claim the title. Diehl, Ros and Knigge each had nine kills to pace the Brewers, and Diehl added eight digs for Vassar. Lee also posted 33 assists, two aces and a block for Vassar, which hit .250 (36-14-88) for the match. 

Shankweiler finished with a match-high 11 kills, adding three aces, and Thomas Burrelll chalked up five blocks. Dylan DeBour also picked up seven kills, four blocks and nine digs for the Ducks. 

If it is the end of the road for this year's senior class, the group will graduate with the most victories of any four-year crew with 90 victories over the last four seasons. Tune into ncaa.com Monday afternoon to view the NCAA Selection Show to see if the Brewers qualify for the NCAA Tournament.