POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Despite a match-high 17 kills from senior hitter Claire Basler-Chang, the Vassar College women's volleyball team was unable to hold off the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Tuesday evening. The Mariners, who came from behind to earn a 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-13) victory move to 2-0 on the season. The Brewers slip to 0-4 overall.

Vassar, which trailed 1-0 to open the game's contest, rebounded in the second and third set with matching 25-14 victories and a 2-1 advantage. The second set opened in a tight battle that saw Vassar gain the early advantage behind a service ace from senior utility Sara Ehnstrom for the 5-3 margin. The Brewers later held an 11-8 edge that was quickly diminished as Merchant Marine used a four-point rally to tie it up, including two service aces from senior setter Brittney Pinzon.

The Brewers rallied themselves with their own point swing, this one of six points to take a 17-11 advantage. Merchant Marine scored three points over the stretch, but couldn't hold back the Brewers.
Vassar came out flying in the third, building up a 5-0 lead quickly, including back-to-back kills from Basler-Chang. A pair of kills from senior hitter Jamie Kesten made it a 9-4 game and VC continued to build its lead to 13-6 behind two more strikes from Basler-Chang.

The home team continued to press late in the frame, powering to the third set victory behind strikes from Kesten, rookie hitter Hailey Hayes and senior setter Madison Wilson for the 25-14 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Fourth set action faced a delay as a campus-wide power outage put Kenyon Gym in the dark. Once the light were back on, the Mariners took advantage of the delay, seizing momentum. Despite a tight battle throughout most of the set, Merchant Marine used a three-point rally, capped by a service ace from senior outside hitter Shelby Bowman to complete the 25-22 set win to force a fifth and deciding set.

The final set saw both teams plagued by errors, but it was the visitors that would take advantage, as a pair of attacking miscues helped the Mariners open an early 3-1 lead. Merchant Marine continued to take advantage of the VC errors, building up a 6-2 edge before the Brewers were forced to call a timeout.

In the race to 15, a six-point swing saw the homestanding Brewers take the lead, battling back from 10-8 for the 13-10 advantage. Basler-Chang had a kill and an ace, while Hayes added a strike, coupled with several attacking errors by the visitors.  

Out of a timeout, the Mariners pulled to within one (13-12) behind several VC errors this time, tying the set at 13-13 following a Jones kill down the left corner. Merchant Marine completed the comeback, taking advantage of back-to-back errors by the Brewers for the 15-13 set win and 3-2 match victory.

Leading the Mariners was junior outside hitter Paige Smith, who also recorded a match-high 17 kills. She also added 13 digs. Pinzon laid down five kills, adding nine digs with 36 assists, while Jones and Bowman had seven and six kills, respectively. Junior defensive specialist Skyler Burnham led all players with 31 digs.

For the Brewers, Basler-Chang also recorded a match-best four service aces and team-high 21 digs. Hayes recorded 12 kills on the night, adding a block assist, while Kesten recorded seven kills, a block solos, two block assists and 12 digs. Anthony-Brumfield added six kills, while Wilson posted a match-best 39 assists with two service aces, 13 digs and two kills.

Vassar returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Clark University to face Fitchburg State (2pm) and the homestanding Cougars (4pm). Merchant Marine is back in action on Thursday, hosting Kean at 7pm.