SPRINGFIELD, MA – In what was expected to be a close match, the No. 3 Vassar men's volleyball team dropped a 2-3 decision to No. 1 Springfield in the first night of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Friday evening. The Brewers move to 3-1 on the season, while the Pride rises to 6-0.
After falling 15-25 in the first set, Vassar bounced back to win the next two with scores of 25-22. Springfield controlled the fourth set winning 25-18, and then closed out with a 15-6 victory in the fifth.
In the opening set, Vassar took the first kill, but Springfield scored four straight points to take a 4-1 lead. The Brewers battled back with Colin Jones (San Diego, CA), blocking a Liam York attack, and then Gavin van Beveren (Alpharetta, GA) recorded an ace to tie 4-4. Two more ties followed until the Pride regained the advantage. Jacob Kim (Pleasanton, CA) sent in a kill to cut the lead to 8-9, but five consecutive Springfield points followed. The Pride maintained the lead and closed out the set on a 4-0 run to go up 1-0.
The Brewers fell behind early in the second, but two straight aces from Adam Gulick (Buffalo, NY) made it 4-4. The teams traded points until Springfield led 9-7. A Pride error and then a kill from van Beveren made it 9-9, and it stayed close until the Brewers took a 23-22 lead. Kills from Andrew Kim (Rancho Santo Margarita, CA) and Jacob Kim evened the sets.
Vassar took a 15-10 lead in the third when van Beveren sent in a kill. Jake Kaplan (Leesburg, VA) pushed the Brewers' lead to five following an ace, and then two kills by Jones put Vassar ahead 20-16. Springfield took advantage of some Vassar errors to cut into the deficit, but a final kill by Gulick put the Brewers up 2-1.
Springfield rallied in the fourth and led for the majority of the set. After Jones tied 13-13, the Pride went on a 4-0 run that included Nate Reynolds and Brennen Brandow kills. Vassar could never really rally afterward with the Pride closing out the set on a service ace from Anderson.
Gulick put the Brewers ahead 2-0 when he sent in a kill at the start of the fifth. Springfield scored the following six points and controlled the set down the stretch to secure the victory.
Andrew Kim led the Brewers with 12 kills and two aces, while Gulick recorded nine kills with two aces. Matt Usui (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) recorded 11 digs, while Jacob Kim made 34 assists.
For the Pride, three players had double-digit kills in Anderson (15), Brandow (12, and York (12). Johjan Mussa Robles led the team with 17 digs, while Matt Lilley had 45 assists.
Vassar competes in the second day of the tournament against NYU at 6 p.m.
