POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The No.15 Vassar College men's volleyball team opened its first home tri-match of the 2019 campaign with a pair of wins. The Brewers (3-1) defeated Rutgers-Newark (1-2) 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 before topping Emmanuel (0-2) 25-27, 25-12, 25-19, 25-17 on Saturday afternoon at Kenyon Hall.
Jake Kaplan (Leesburg, VA) led the Brewers with 22 kills on the day, while
George Diehl (St. Louis, MO) and
Ryan Duchemin (Maitland, FL) added 18 and 14 kills, respectively. Duchemin also had five service aces.
Kevin Ros (Bridgewater, NJ), meanwhile, delivered 51 total assists.
The Brewers opened competition with a swift five-point lead before the Scarlet Raiders even got on the board. Vassar maintained dominance the entire set, never allowing Rutgers-Newark to come within five points. The Brewers took the first set, 25-17.
In the second set, the Brewers kept composure although the Scarlet Raiders found some momentum. Trailing 7-2, Rutgers-Newark went on a four point run bringing the set within a point. However, Vassar got kills from Diel and
Yoni Auerbach (East Brunswick, NJ), paired with a Scarlet Raider attacking error and a
Wes Olstad (Encinitas, CA) ace, gave the Brewers a six-point edge. Rutgers-Newark fought back with a three-point run before the Brewers mounted their own six-point run. The deficit would prove to be too much for the Scarlet Raiders, with the set ending 25-21 in the Brewers' favor. The Brewers hit .324 with 16 kills in the set.
In the final set of their first match, the Brewers maintained control. Vassar opened with a strong 10-4 run, forcing a Rutgers-Newark timeout. The Brewers held their lead throughout the set and closed out the match, 25-20.
Diehl and Auerbach each notched seven kills, while Olstand and
Noah Hoppenjans (Edmond, OK) both served two aces.
Rutgers-Newark's David Mrowko and Arvind Kumar each tallied five kills, while Kyle Loesner collected three blocks, four digs and one assist.
The aggressive spirit of their first match lingered, as the Brewers opened their second match against Emmanuel. Hitting hard, the Brewers found themselves giving way for the Saints to score. Trailing 20-15, Vassar got a kill by
Jefferson Waters (Hummelstown, PA) and two Emmanuel attacking errors to pull within three. However, the Saints held their advantage and won the set, 27-25.
Coming off the loss, Vassar subsequently change its approach, still hitting aggressively but with more placement and finesse. Diehl opened the set by serving nine straight points before the Saints connected. During the run, Waters smashed two more kills, while Kaplan earned one. That energy stayed for the rest of the set, as the Brewers went on to hit .762 with 16 kills in a 25-12 win. Vassar also took the third set by a 25-19 count to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Going into the fourth set, Vassar and Emmanuel found themselves going point-for-point. The Brewers sided out off an Emmanuel service error and scored four straight points which included a Diehl kill, an Emmanuel attacking error and two Duchemin aces. Now in the lead, Vassar extended the gap. The match ended on a Waters kill from Ros, as the Brewers took the fourth set, 25-17, to close out a 3-1 win.
Waters commanded the net with 12 blocks, while
Joe Hendrickson (Feeding Hills, MA) had eight and Kaplan added five.
Matt Usui (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) registered six digs.
Erik English had a strong performance for the Saints with five kills, nine digs and an ace.
Vassar is back in action on Friday, when it takes on NYU (1-3) at 8 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Classic from Springfield, MA.
