POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The No. 2 Vassar men's volleyball team went 1-1 at their home tri-match on Saturday afternoon in Kenyon Hall. The Brewers first fell to No. 5 Stevens in three sets (22-25, 20-25, 19-25) and then rebounded with a win over Elms in four sets (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 25-20).

Against former UVC foe Stevens, the Brewers struggled to hit at only .185 percent opposed to the Ducks' .350 percent. In the first set, Vassar went built a 6-2 lead behind two kills from senior Kevin Ros (Bridgewater, NJ). Stevens got within two after two kills of their own, but Ros knocked in another kill to make it 7-4. Vassar maintained the lead until the Ducks tied it 10-10. Jefferson Waters (Hummelstown, PA) earned a kill to start a 3-1 rally, and then a Ros service ace put Vassar up 17-13. Kills from Ryan Duchemin (Maitland, FL) and Andrew Kim (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) made it 19-14, but an 8-1 Ducks' run followed. Now behind two, Gavin van Beveren (Alpharetta, GA) and Waters made a kill each to tie the set 22-22. Three straight Vassar errors came after to close the set.

Vassar built a 7-3 advantage in the second. The Brewers maintained the lead until the Ducks tied it 13-13. A kill and ace from Duchemin put Vassar up by two, but Stevens tied it once again. After the sides traded scores, the set was tied 20-20. The Ducks then scored five straight to capture the set.

Another tight set followed in the third. After the Brewers went up 7-5, the Ducks rolled on a 6-1 span to take a four-point lead. Vassar went on to tie two more times, but could never retake the lead, falling 19-25.

Waters led the team with ten kills, while Ros and van Beveren added seven each. Steven Koja (Temecula, CA) topped the group with 29 assists, and Matt Usui (Rolling Hill Estates, CA) recorded 12 digs.

David Lehman led Stevens with 18 kills, and Jack Bittker knocked in 13. Grant Burden, meanwhile, posted 39 assists and seven digs.

In Vassar's second match of the day, the Brewers trailed early, falling behind 4-7 to the Blazers. Vassar responded with a 3-2 run to pull within one, but Elms kept holding on. A Duchemin kill off a Koja assist cut the lead to 13-14, and then five unanswered Vassar points gave the Brewers an 18-14 lead. The Blazers rallied back within two, but Vassar extended the margin to 24-20 after a Ros kill. Duchemin then fired in the final kill for the win.

The Brewers built up to a 10-3 second set lead, but a 6-0 Elms' run tied the set 11-11 and forced a Vassar timeout. Vassar went on to retake the point and then used a 7-1 span to go up by seven. A 3-0 span at the end gave Vassar the win.

The third set remained close, with the Blazers pulling off the 26-24 victory. Neither side led by more than four, and there were seven ties. After it was tied 23-23, Vassar went up by one after an error, but the Blazers scored the next three.

In the fourth, it seemed as if it would be another close affair. Vassar tied it 12-12 after a kill from Ros, and then a Jordan Klembczyk (Penfield, NY) service ace put the Brewers up one. After four more ties, Vassar used a 5-0 run to make it 23-18. After some back-and-forth scoring, van Beveren knocked in the game-winning kill.

Four Brewers recorded double-digit kills with Ros recording a double-double with 18 kills on a .630 hitting percentage and ten digs. Kim and van Beveren added 11 kills each, while Duchemin knocked in ten with three service aces. Koja dished out 45 assists to go along with eight digs. Usui recorded ten digs with two assists.

For the Blazers, Jeremy Torres had 14 kills, and four digs and Diego Hernandez tacked on 13.

Vassar continues their homestand on Fri. Feb 28 to host UVC opponent St. John Fisher at 6 p.m. in Kenyon Hall.