SALEM, VA – Sophomore Andrew Kim (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) led the No. 2 Vassar men's volleyball team with 17 kills on the way to a 3-0 victory (25-21, 25-23, 25-22) against Hiram in the NCAA Tournament First Round. Vassar now faces No. 3 Dominican (IL) in tomorrow's quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m.

The Terriers came to battle, though, keeping within four points in the opening two sets. In the first set, Vassar came out ahead with the 25-21 victory. Some early match jitters started things off with both teams recording errors on their first serves. The action remained close, and neither side pulled away. The Brewers were able to take the lead after Kim, and senior Ryan Duchemin (Maitland, FL) blocked a Tom Supan attempt. Then Duchemin sent in a service ace to push the Brewers ahead 6-5. Hiram hung around, though, staying within striking distance until Supan hit a kill to take a 12-11 advantage.

First-year Jacob Kim (Pleasanton, CA) got the Brewers moving right after, slicing in two straight kills before Andrew Kim knocked in another. Hiram cut it to one after a Brewers' service error, but another 3-0 Vassar run with kills by Andrew Kim and Adam Gulick (Buffalo, NY) made it 17-13. Hiram did answer with its own 3-0 span, but two consecutive aces from Jacob Kim made it 21-16. The terriers rallied to cut the Brewers' lead to 24-21, but their service error gave Vassar the set win.

The Terriers continued to show they deserved to be in the Tournament in the second set. Kill from Hiram's Hunter Rock and Andrew Diaz gave them a 5-4 lead. Vassar scored the next two, but Kilvio Montero tied it with his kill. Four unanswered Vassar points gave the Brewers the lead they held until the Terriers managed a solid comeback to make it 23-23. Despite the momentum, Rock recorded a service error, and then Andrew Kim capped off the win with a kill.

Vassar controlled the final set and never lost the lead. Kills by Andrew Kim and Joseph Harrington (San Diego, CA) pushed the lead to 18-13. Vassar then flexed its muscle when Colin Jones (San Diego, CA) and Gulick double blocked a Montero attempt on the left side. Once again, Andrew Kim finished off the Terriers by hitting in the match-winning kill.

Andrew Kim hit .379 percent and also had two aces, two block assists, and two digs. Harrington matched his career-high eight kills, while Jacob Kim tallied a career-best 31 assists, two aces, and five kills on .714 hitting. Jones was perfect, going five-for-five on his attack attempts. He also led the team with three block assists. Junior Matt Usui (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) finished the day with a match-high nine digs.

For the Terriers, Supan recorded ten kills on .250, hitting with a team-high five digs. Montero added seven kills, and setter Jake Lininger dished out 11 assists.

The Brewers reach the quarterfinals for the third time in program history and play Dominican tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in the Salem Civic Center.  


Please Note: Per Vassar College guidelines and standards, students are allowed to be unmasked when alone (in their rooms or stationary outside while maintaining six-feet of distance) or with other members of their registered residential pod. Photos depicted that feature individuals without masks or within six-feet are roommates or those in residential pods together. Above photo features three student-athletes in a registered pod at Vassar.