THOUSAND OAKS, CA – The Vassar men's volleyball team continued their west coast trip with against California Lutheran on Wednesday evening, falling 20-25, 18-25, and 23-25 to the Kingsmen in close sets. With the loss, the Brewers fall to 0-2 overall, while California Lutheran moves to 5-2.
The Brewers and Kingsmen traded points in the first set, with neither side leading more than two for the first half. An attack error from Cal Lutheran tied the game 12-12, but the Kingsmen used a 4-1 run to take a 16-13 lead. Then a kill and service ace from Ryan Duchemin cut the lead to one, but the Kingsmen held a one-point cushion. After a score from Joseph Harrington and a Kingsmen' error, the Brewers pulled within two at 22-20. Cal Lutheran then used a 3-0 span to close the set 25-20.
The start of the second set was nearly identical to the first, with nine set ties. Vassar went up 9-7 after a Jake Kaplan kill, but the Kingsmen responded with two scores. Kills from Andrew Kim and Gavin van Beveren put the Brewers up 11-10. The Kingsmen responded with another 3-0 run to take a 13-11 lead, which they held for the remainder of the set. Kaplan would keep the Brewers behind one after a kill, but Cal Lutheran knocked in four points to take a 23-16 lead before closing out the frame.
Vassar fought hard to the end in the final set, going on a 6-0 after Cal Lutheran scored first. In that span, van Beveren knocked in a kill before Harrington had two straight. Two Kingsmen' attack errors followed, and then Kevin Ros tallied another kill before an opponent timeout. Kills from Harrington and Duchemin put Vassar up 8-2 until Cal Lutheran scored five unanswered to cut the lead to 8-7. The Brewers maintained a slight lead until the set was tied 14-14. Cal Lutheran went up the next rally before Vassar went on a 3-0 kick. There were three more ties afterward, with Harrington making 23-23 after a kill. Vassar could not force another set, and the Kingsmen scored the final two to take the sweep.
Ros led the Brewers with nine kills, while Harrington and van Beveren each had eight. Van Beveren led the Brewers with three blocks, and Harrington had two. Duchemin tacked on six kills with one service ace. Freshman Steven Koja improved his career-high with 36 assists to lead both teams. Sophomore Matt Usui led the team with six digs and also tacked on two assists.
Cal Lutheran was led by Patrick Rowe and Justin Dietrich, who each knocked in ten kills. Blake Zingerman led the team with 26 assists.
Vassar continues the action with a pair of matches on Sat. Jan. 18. The Brewers face No. 8 UC Santa Cruz at 2 p.m. (EST) and Fontbonne at 4:30 p.m. (EST).
