POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Vassar men's volleyball team came back from being down 0-2 to force a fifth set, but it was not enough as visiting New Paltz came away with the victory on Monday evening in Kenyon Hall. With the win, New Paltz (6-3, 6-2 UVC) claims the top seed in the United Volleyball Conference Tournament, while Vassar (6-3, 5-3) is the second seed.

New Paltz appeared to be in control early, taking a 6-3 lead in the first set. Some miscues from the Hawks serving helped the Brewers stay close, but Vassar's errors made it difficult to take advantage. Eventually, the Brewers offense woke up, rattling off a kill from sophomore Andrew Kim and then two straight by first-year Colin Jones. An attack error by New Paltz's Aaron Carrk tied it up 11-11. The set tied once more when Matt Usui set for a Vaughn Ramsey kill, but then it was all New Paltz. A pair of Brewer errors and kills by Carrk and Nick O'Malley sent the Hawks on a 4-0 run. Vassar could cut the lead to 19-21 when Adam Gulick, Jones, and Joseph Harrington blocked a Brendan Spulnick attempt. Kills by Carrk and Spulnick made it 20-24 before Gulick sent in a kill. Carrk recorded the setpoint right after.

New Paltz once again jumped out early, taking a 5-1 lead. Vassar regained some composure, using a 4-0 span comprised of two Harrington kills and a Gulick service ace to tie 5-5. Another 4-0 run capped off by a Ryan Duchemin ace gave the Brewers 10-8 lead. There were six more ties until the set stood at 22-22. O'Malley sent in a kill and then blocked with Carrk to go up by two. A Vassar serve error gave the Hawks set point.

In the third, Vassar fell behind 5-7 but took advantage of a Hawks error before Kim used a kill to tie 7-7. Leads went back-and-forth until the New Paltz led by two. Jones then began a 6-0 Vassar run following his kill. During that, Kim picked up two more aces as the Brewers went on to lead 16-12. Vassar held the lead for the remainder of the set, but New Paltz kept it within two. Duchemin, Gulick, and Harrington sealed the victory, though, blocking a Spulnick attempt for set point.

The fourth set was tight, with extra points needed to decide a winner. Kim tied it at 14-14 before Chris Shanley hit a kill and Carrk knocked in an ace. Vassar took an 18-17 lead Jones tallied a kill and a block, but the Hawks returned to go up 24-23. After a Vassar timeout, the Brewers scored two unanswered before a Pat Wing kill tied it once more at 25-25. Kim hit a kill, and then a ball handling error from New Paltz forced the fifth set.

Two Hawks' errors put Vassar up 2-0 in the fifth set. The teams traded short runs until New Paltz took an 11-8 lead. A kill from Gulick and then a Hawks' error kept the Brewers down one, but New Paltz kept the pressure up, taking a 13-11 lead. An O'Malley kill and then a dominant block by Shanley, and O'Malley gave the Hawks the match win.

Kim led the Brewers with 18 kills on .457 hitting while adding two aces and seven digs. Gulick recorded a career-high 17 kills on .393 hitting, and Jones had 11 kills on a stellar .846 hitting percentage. He also had three blocks. Harrington had a career-best four blocks, and Usui led the team with nine digs. AJ Erickson topped the group with 40 assists.

For the Hawks, Carrk recorded a match-high 22 kills on .366 hitting and added ten digs and three aces. Spulnick had 19 kills, and O'Malley made 12 with four blocks.

As the two seed, Vassar takes on St. John Fisher in the UVC Tournament Semifinals this Friday. The match will be played at Elmira with a time to be determined. New Paltz plays Nazareth in the semifinals.