POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Vassar College Women's Volleyball team earned its first win of the season on Friday night as the Brewers won a thrilling 25-21, 15-25, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13 five set match over Skidmore in the Liberty League opener. Freshman Molly Delahunty (Newton, MA) tallied a career-high 13 kills on the night for the Brewers.

After a back and forth opening of the first set, the Thoroughbreds opened up a 9-6 lead on multiple VC attack errors. Following a block by Skidmore's Jo Blanco and Maya Stolarz to put the Thoroughbreds up 14-12, the Brewers responded with four straight points, keyed by a kill from sophomore Julia Hale (Hillsborough, CA) and an ace from freshman Ellie Kogan (Brooklyn, NY).

Skidmore took the lead once again at 16-17 following a double block but Vassar responded again with four straight points, including two kills from Delahunty and one from sophomore Hailey Hayes (Canyon Lake, TX). The Brewers earned the first set win following two Thoroughbreds miscues 25-21.

Skidmore raced out to an early 8-3 advantage in the second set as Audrey Powell, Chelsea Winegar and Blanco each buried a kill. The Brewers got it back to 17-13 off an attack error but Skidmore rattled off six straight points and went on to win the second set 15-25. Delahunty and Hayes each had three kills in the set while Hale and freshman Rebecca Gutierrez (Oak Park, IL) added two apiece.

After a service aces gave the Thoroughbreds an 8-6 lead, Vassar scored the next four points, led by an ace from Hayes and a kill from Delahunty. The two teams traded lead changes throughout the middle of the set but Skidmore went on 7-1 run to open up a 15-22 lead late in the third set. The Brewers fought hard in the late stages as Hayes had two service aces and two kills to bring Vassar within two points at 21-23. Skidmore earned two of the next three tallies to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Vassar took an early 7-4 lead in the fourth set as junior Ava Casalino (Portland, OR) buried two kills and Delahunty added two more. After a Hale kill gave the Brewers a 17-11 advantage, Skidmore tallied four of the next five points to cut the Brewers lead to 18-15. Vassar then took control of the fourth set and scored the next seven points to close out the set 25-15 and force the deciding fifth set. Two service aces from junior Maya Levine (Granby, MA) sparked the quick rally.

A wild fifth set ensued as the Brewers scored the first three points on a Casalino winner and two Skidmore miscues. The Thoroughbreds then countered with six straight points after two blocks by Stolarz. Vassar went on a run of its own and tallied five straight on two kills by Hayes, one by Casalino and an ace from senior Kaitlin Birnbaum (La Jolla, CA).

Skidmore tallied four more points on two kills from Blanco and an ace from Winegar. The Brewers then pushed its lead back to 12-10 on a kills from Hayes, Birnbaum and Casalino in addition to an ace from Gutierrez. Delahunty put down the ultimate winner to give Vassar a 15-13 set win and a win in the Liberty League opener.

Delahunty finished the night with a team-high 13 kills as well as three blocks. Hayes added 12 kills, 10 digs and three service aces while Gutierrez tallied nine kills and three aces. Freshman setter Melia Voss (Marietta, GA) handed out a game-high 42 assists and also added three blocks, including one solo. Levine finished the night with a game-high 17 digs while Kogan added 16. Five different players had 10 or more digs in the contest.

Blanco had a team-high 14 kills for Skidmore and added three blocks and seven digs. Winegar had 13 kills, 10 digs and two aces while Stolarz added three aces and three blocks. Audrey Powell had the team-high in assists with 27 and Noa Berger handed out 15 helpers for the Thoroughbreds. Elizabeth Miller led the team in digs with 15 with Ella Kretten and Winegar each lifting double digit digs.

The Brewers will return to action tomorrow afternoon at Kenyon Hall when they welcome Clarkson to Poughkeepsie in a Liberty League matchup. First serve with the Golden Knights is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.