POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Vassar College men's volleyball team defended its home court against foes, the Sage Gators (25-19, 25-13, 25-12) and the Augustana Vikings (25-22, 28-26, 25-23) Thursday evening inside Kenyon Hall.
With the wins, the Vassar moves to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in conference.
The Brewers opened the day with a fresh line up. Missing senior
George Diehl (St. Louis, MO) due to graduate school interviews, Vassar looked to their deep bench for a new starting seven. Yet, the change did not seem to faze the Brewers as the matches went underway, credit to the talent of the team.
On the offense, Vassar found three leaders in
Jefferson Waters (Hummelstown, Pa),
Kevin Ros (Bridgewater, NJ) and
Jake Kaplan (Leesburg, VA).
Daniel Halberg (Newark, DE), supplied the offensive attack with 30 total assists on the day. Further on the night, the Brewers were composed on defense driven by
Matt Usui (Rolling Hills Estates, CA).
The first set of the first match opened with Vassar and Sage going point for point. With the set matched at eight, the Brewer's found momentum offensively off three services aces, and a Ros kill forcing a Gator timeout and a 3-point lead. Vassar maintained the lead for the rest of the set, winning 25-19.
The Brewers' offensive streak lingered into the second set, though the Gators remained biting at the net. Once more, Vassar and Sage found themselves at a stalemate of eight followed by two service aces and another Ros kill, prompting a Sage timeout. Post timeout, the Gators edged out five more points but could not completely connect and dropped the set to the Brewers attack. The set ended 25-13.
Going into the third and final set, Vassar was hitting .362 for the day. Ros had tallied seven kills, while Halberg dished 13 assists and
Noah Hoppenjans (Edmond, OK), 12. Additionally Usui had collected five digs.
Up two sets, the Brewers did not stir anything up as they opened the final set of the match jumping to a swift 13-7 lead. The Gators continued to attack with a sense of urgency, however Vassar's defense was well prepared for anything that came over the net. The Brewers closed out the match on a Hoppenjans service ace, 25-12.
The set ended with Vassar hitting .340 lead by Water's 11 kills. Kaplan and Ros tallied nine and eight kills respectively. While
Ryan Duchemin (Maitland, FL), Kaplan, and Halberg all stopped two attached with blocks. Additionally, the Brewers were solid defensively thanks to Usui's 10 digs, Kaplan's five and Halberg's two.
The second match of the night faired similar results, with the Brewers winning in three straight sets. Although, it was a tighter battle.
Vassar opened the first set of the second match with the same offensive enthusiasm as they closed the last match, although they had a bit of a tougher time connecting going point-for-point with Augustana. A 3-1 point run for the Vikings found the Brewers trailing by more than one for the first time in the match. The Brewers sided out closing the gap to one point, though the Vikings would go on a 4-point run and maintain the lead. Down by five, Vassar looked to close the gap again with an Augustana service error, Ros kill and Kaplan service ace. A block by Yoni Auerback (East Brunswick, NJ) and
Ghali Khalil (Alexandria, Egypt) paired with a Hoppenjans-Ros connection allowed for the Brewers to gain the lead for the first time in the match. The set 25-22 on a Khalil and Waters block.
Set two of the second match opened just as tight as the first with Vassar and Augustana trading points. 14-all, Vassar gained the advantage on an Augustana service error. A service ace by Kaplan coupled with a Vikings attacking error, opened the floor for Vassar to lead by three, drawing an Augustana timeout. Breaking from the timeout, the Vikings pressured the Brewers, finding the score tied at 26. Yet two nimble Ros service aces closed out the set 28-26.
The day concluded with Vassar closing out the final set 25- . After starting the set deadlocked point-for-point again, the Vikings found a spark, going on a 6-1 point run. Thus, triggering a Vassar timeout. Coming out of the team huddle, the Brewers allowed the Vikings to score two more points before a Kaplan kill, two Augustana attacking errors and a Ros and Khalil block generated a Viking's timeout. Down by one, a Waters kill from Usui tied the score at 14. Moreover, another Waters kill from Usui gave the Brewers the lead. However, on the next serve the Vikings would return the point. Accordingly, Vassar and Augustana would trade the lead. For the final time of the match, the score was tied at 21. A Kaplan service ace and Augustana attacking error elicited one final Viking's timeout. Back on the court, a Augustana's serving error sealed the fate of the Vikings 25-23.
Ros had 11 kills and three service aces in the win, while Kaplan had seven kills and four service aces. Khalil contributed three blocks. Usui added another seven digs, bringing him to 17 digs on the day.
Vassar concluded the day hitting .236.
The Brewers are back in action on Friday, March 1, when they visit No. 1 Springfield (13-1) at 7 p.m. The Pride earned a 3-1 win over Vassar on Feb. 2.
