New York, NY - The #10 Vassar College Men's Volleyball team hit the road for the UVC regular season finale on Wednesday evening as the Brewers almost completed the reverse sweep against #1 NYU before falling 19-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 13-15. Vassar falls to 19-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play while the Violets improve to 23-0 and 7-0 in UVC action.
Following today's results, Vassar will be the third seed in the upcoming UVC Tournament beginning next Friday, April 11 and the Brewers will take on either sixth-seeded Hobart or Elmira at 7:30 p.m. at top-seeded NYU.
First Set
- NYU took an early 6-2 lead after two aces and a kill from Emerson Evans.
- The Violets lead grew to 13-8 after a kill from Ry Kagan and a block from Luke Boyer and Buddy Cohen until VC cut the lead to 13-10 after kills from seniors Billy Fan and Gavin Akoto.
- An ace from Bennet Tchaikovsky and a winner from Lucas Osiecki pushed the lead up to 18-11.
- A kill and a solo block from sophomore Armaan Desai reduced the advantage to 22-16.
- NYU took the set on two kills from Evans and one from Osiecki.
Second Set
- The Violets earned a 6-2 lead to open the set following two kills from Boyer and an ace from Evans.
- After a block from Cohen and Osiecki put NYU ahead 9-4, Vassar battled back within 10-8 on two kills from Fan.
- Two aces from Osiecki pushed the lead to 15-8 before the Brewers got within 18-15 on kills from first year Petar Miocinovic, Desai, Akoto and sophomore Walter Birnbaum.
- A solo block from Akoto put the Brewers within 19-17 until NYU used a kill each from Osiecki and Boyer along with blocks from Cohen, Evans and Osiecki to take the set.
Third Set
- An ace from senior Payne Lounsbery evened an early back-and-forth third set before Vassar went ahead 10-9 on a block from Desai, Fan and Birnbaum.
- NYU scored five straight points, led by two kills from Boyer and an ace from Evans, to take a 14-10 lead.
- Vassar battled back to draw even at 17 on back-to-back Akoto aces and went ahead 19-17 on a block from senior Tobias Clark.
- Consecutive winners from Cohen and Evans tied the set at 19 apiece until the Brewers pulled back in front at 22-20 on two kills from Birnbaum and a winner from Desai.
- NYU tied the set once again on a Kagan winner but the Brewers scored three of the final four points, led by a Desai kill, to extend the match to a fourth set.
Fourth Set
- Vassar scored an early 5-3 lead on a kill each from Desai and Clark along with a block from Desai and Birnbaum.
- NYU surged ahead 9-7 on a kill and ace from Osiecki and a solo block from Cohen.
- Four kills from Birnbaum and a block from Clark and Desai helped VC take a 13-12 lead.
- The Brewers lead expanded to 20-17 following two more winners from Birnbaum and a block from Lounsbery and Akoto.
- Two kills from Osiecki and an Evans ace brought NYU within 21-20.
- Osiecki's winner put the Violets within a point but back-to-back NYU errors pushed the set to a final fifth set.
Fifth Set
- Both teams traded points in the early stages as VC took a 7-5 lead after a Birnbaum kill, a solo block from Akoto and an ace from Fan.
- A winner and an ace from Osiecki evened the set at 11 all for NYU.
- The Violets went ahead 13-12 on an ace from Osiecki and a kill from Cohen to push ahead 13-12.
- Akoto buried a winner to tie the set at 13 but NYU used back-to-back kills from Kagan to earn the five-set victory.
For The Brewers
- Birnbaum buried a match-high 17 kills, two aces, three blocks and three digs along with Desai tallying 12 winners and seven blocks (three solo).
- Fan garnered eight kills, six digs and two blocks while Akoto added seven winners, three digs and three blocks.
- Clark chipped in five kills, 10 digs, two blocks and six assists along with Lounsbery registering a team-high 35 assists and 12 digs.
For The Violets
- Osiecki recorded 15 kills, seven aces, four digs and three blocks while Kagan added 11 kills and four digs.
- Evans chipped in 10 kills, four aces, eight digs and two blocks along with Boyer registering seven winners, five digs and two blocks.
- Cohen finished with four kills and five blocks while Devin Nguyen tallying a match-high 40 assists and 16 digs.
Up Next
- Vassar closes the regular season with Senior Day on Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m. against #2 Springfield and concluding at 4:30 p.m. against Russell Sage.
- NYU will host the UVC Conference Tournament beginning next Friday.