POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The No. 4 Vassar men's volleyball team picked up where they left off a season ago, sweeping Elmira 3-0 in a pair of matches in the season opener at Kenyon Hall on Sunday afternoon. The Brewers move to 2-0 and 2-0 in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC), while the soaring Eagles drop to 0-10 and 0-4 in the UVC. 

Sophomore Andrew Kim (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) led the Vassar attack with 24 kills and 14 service aces while hitting .579 percent. His 11 aces in the first match also set a program record for most in a single game. Jeff Barr held the previous record with nine against NJIT on Feb. 12, 2003.

Vassar quickly controlled the first set of game one, dismantling the Soaring Eagles 25-10. After the Soaring Eagles took the first point, the Brewers went on a 10-0 run that included four Kim aces. Elmira broke the streak after a timeout but kills from Joseph Harrington (San Diego, CA), and Kim pushed the Vassar lead to 13-3. The Soaring Eagles never pulled within ten after that with an Adam Gulick (Buffalo, NY) kill and two straight Kim aces, making it 23-8. A Soaring Eagles' attack error closed the set out for the Vassar win. 

Elmira picked up the pace in the second, but Vassar still won 25-19. Both teams traded points until an 8-8 tie. Kim knocked in a pair of kills to take a two-score advantage, but the Soaring Eagles answered with two scores of their own. After some more back-and-forth, Elmira went on a 5-0 run to go up 19-16. Vassar then went on an impressive 9-0 run capped off by yet another Kim ace to close the set. 

The Brewers cruised in the third set for a 25-13 victory to mark the season's first win. Vassar started off going 10-1, and Elmira could never muster a comeback. Kim finished the match with 11 kills on .524 hitting. Gulick and Jake Kaplan (Leesburg, VA) both added five kills each. Joe Hendrickson (Feeding Hills, NY) led the Brewers with four blocks, while first-year Jacob Kim (San Ramon, CA) had a match-high 18 assists. Junior Matt Usui (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) led the squad with 13 digs.

Vassar swept Elmira 3-0 again in the second game, but the Soaring Eagles kept competitive. After the Brewers easily won 25-11 in the first set, Elmira was able to take a 16-15 lead in the second. The visitors stayed within two before Kaplan finished off a 3-0 Vassar run with a kill to make it 21-17. Jacob Kim hit in a kill to give the Brewers a 23-21, but Elmira hung around before Andrew Kim struck another set-winning kill.

The Brewers took the third set by the same mark, 25-23. Elmira took an early 7-5 lead before Vassar tied it 8-8 after a Soaring Eagles error. There would be nine more ties before the end. At 22-22, Harrington, Andrew Kim, and Ryan Duchemin (Maitland, FL) gave Vassar a 24-22 lead behind a kill each. Elmira made it 24-23, but a Gulick kill sealed the victory. 

Kim led Vassar with three aces and 13 kills on .647 hitting, while Gavin van Beveren (Alpharetta, GA) tacked on six with five blocks. Jacob Kim improved his assist total to 21, while first-year AJ Erickson (San Diego, CA) added 12.  

For the Soaring Eagles, Oscar Munoz Trinidad led the team with 13 kills, while Neiram Galan-Canales recorded 14 assists.

Vassar returns to action in a few days to travel to No. 2 New Paltz on Wed. Mar. 24. The two games will be played at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.