POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – For the second straight match, the Vassar College men's volleyball team took on a top-three opponent. And for the second straight match, the Brewers won a set against their highly-ranked foe. Vassar (4-3, 0-1 UVC) was unable to come away with the victory, however, falling 25-17, 16-25, 25-20, 25-20 to No. 3 New Paltz (6-1, 1-0 UVC) in its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) on Wednesday night at Kenyon Hall.
After the first point of the match went to Vassar, New Paltz scored the next four to open up a 4-1 lead. The Hawks increased their advantage to 8-4 before the Brewers rallied back within three at 17-14. However, New Paltz's Matthew Grace was credited with a kill on the next point, starting a 7-2 run that brought the Hawks to set point. New Paltz captured the set by a 25-17 count to take an early lead in the match.
In the second set, it was Vassar that jumped out to the 4-1 lead. After New Paltz pulled even at 11-11, prompting a Brewers timeout,
Ryan Duchemin (Maitland, FL) ripped a kill to spark a 7-1 rally that was capped by
Jake Kaplan's (Leesburg, VA) service ace. A block by
George Diehl (St. Louis, MO) and
Jefferson Waters (Hummelstown, PA) increased the advantage to 22-15, and Diehl's ace closed out a 25-16 set win for the Brewers.
New Paltz again raced out to a 4-1 edge to open the third set before the Brewers stormed back to force an 8-8 draw. The Hawks scored eight of the next 11 points, though, to regain a five-point advantage, 16-11. A Duchemin ace brought Vassar within three at 19-16, but the Brewers would pill no closer. New Paltz hit .500 (19 kills, four errors, 30 attempts) in the set, earning a 25-20 win to go up 2-1 in the match.
On the strength of two kills from Waters, another from Kaplan and a block by Kaplan and
Joe Hendrickson (Feeding Hills, MA), Vassar built a 4-0 cushion to start the fourth set. The Brewers extended the margin to five points when Duchemin's ace made it 10-5 before the Hawks countered with a 6-1 run to even the score at 11-11. After Vassar claimed the next two points, New Paltz went on a 6-2 spurt to open up a 17-15 advantage. The Brewers rallied to tie it at 19-19, but the Hawks took the next five points to go up 24-19, and New Paltz clinched the match with a 25-20 set win.
Waters hit .407 in the match, slamming 12 kills with just one error in 27 attempts. He also had five digs and four blocks. Kaplan tallied 10 kills, while
Kevin Ros (Bridgewater, NJ) distributed 29 assists.
Matt Usui (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) collected a team-best eight digs, and Duchemin recorded three aces. As a team, Vassar hit .220 (37-15-100) in the match.
Nick Smith ripped a match-high 15 kills for the Hawks. He added six digs and three blocks. Nick O'Malley finished with 13 kills on .429 hitting to go along with five blocks and three aces. Bradley Schneider registered 12 kills and seven digs, while Grace, the national leader in assists, handed out 44 helpers. Riley Dolan had nine kills and nine digs, and Robert Nolan posted nine digs. New Paltz outdug Vassar 39-27 and hit a combined .318 (52-18-107).
The Brewers return to action on Saturday afternoon, when they host a tri-match with Bard (1-2, 0-1 UVC) and Johnson & Wales (6-1). Vassar takes on the Raptors at 11 a.m. before facing the Wildcats at 3 p.m.
