Poughkeepsie, NY - Junior
Eleanor Gegen buried a career-high 15 kills along with a career-best 10 kills from sophomore
Ellen Zwerling to lead the Vassar College Women's Volleyball team to a 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 27-25 victory over Skidmore in its conference finale inside Kenyon Hall on Saturday.
Vassar's record improves to 12-12 overall and 6-2 in Liberty League play, marking just the second time since 2017 that the Brewers have won six regular season conference matches. Skidmore drops to 12-11 overall and 3-5 in league play. The third-seeded Brewers and the sixth-seeded Thoroughbreds will match up in the First Round of the Liberty League Championship on Tuesday, November 10th in Poughkeepsie.
First Set
- Vassar raced out to a 6-2 lead in the opening set as Gegen landed two aces along with a kill each from sophomore Elena Feuer and Zwerling.
- The lead expanded to 10-3 lead behind a kill apiece from Zwerling, Gegen and first year Gina O'Connell along with a block from O'Connell and senior Francesca Medrano.
- Skidmore battled back to even the set at 12 all on back-to-back kills from Natalie Pedersen.
- VC propelled back in front following an 8-1 run, led by two kills from Zwerling, an ace from first year Riley Huang, a kill from Gegen and a block from junior Erin Lovett and Feuer, to go ahead 20-13.
- The Thoroughbreds cut the deficit to 21-18 on a winner from Katy O'Connell and got it back to three on a solo block from O'Connell.
- Vassar earned the first set victory behind a Gegen winner to take the set 25-21.
Second Set
- Vassar held a 5-3 lead to open the second set on a kill each fom Lovett, O'Connell and Zwerling.
- The lead grew to 11-7 after two Gegen kills and a winner each from Zwerling and Lovett before Skidmore tied the set at 12 on a kill from Chloe Heitman.
- The Brewers pulled ahead 21-16 behind two aces from Medrano and two kills from Gegen.
- Two kills from Pedersen and two aces from Phoebe Yang trimmed the Vassar lead to 22-21.
- VC scored the final three points of the set, led by an ace from Huang and a kill from Lovett, to go ahead two sets to none.
Third Set
- VC soared to a 7-1 lead in the third stanza as Feuer and Lovett each had a kill while Huang landed two more aces.
- Skidmore battled all the way back to pull ahead 14-11 after four aces from Malana Noble and a kill each from O'Connell and Pedersen.
- The Thoroughbreds expanded the lead to 17-12 on a block from Oia Hughes before Vassar used three Lovett kills to trim the lead to one.
- Vassar tied the set at 18 until Skidmore collected a 22-20 on a kill from Catriona Hoelperl.
- Zwerling's winner got the Brewers within one but a kill each from O'Connell and Noble and an ace from Gabriella Imburgia pushed the match to a fourth set.
Fourth Set
- Once again, Vassar started the set strong with a 6-1 lead on a kill each from O'Connell and Zwerling and blocks from O'Connell, Lovett and Medrano.
- Skidmore evened the set at nine on a kill from Hughes and went ahead 15-12 on two kills from Madison Manning and one more winner from Hughes.
- VC cut the deficit to 20-18 on two aces from Medrano and a kill from senior Holland Kaplan.
- Two more kills from Kaplan brought the Brewers within 22-21 before a kill each from Manning and Imburgia pushed Skidmore to 24-21.
- Vassar rattled off four straight points behind two kills from Kaplan and one from O'Connell to take a 25-24 lead.
- After the Thoroughbreds tied it at 25, the Brewers scored the final two points on a kill and an ace from Kaplan to earn the four-set victory.
For The Brewers
- Gegen finished with a career-high 15 kills (.294), two aces and six digs while Lovett posted 12 kills, three blocks and three digs.
- Zwerling totaled a career-high 10 kills and five digs along with O'Connell totaling eight kills, three blocks and three digs.
- Medrano handed out 42 assists to go along with four aces, three blocks and 20 digs while Kaplan notched six kills.
- Feuer chipped in four kills and two blocks while Huang finished with 22 digs, four aces and five assists.
For The Thoroughbreds
- Pedersen garnered 12 kills while O'Connell registered 10 kills (.588) and six blocks (two solo).
- Hughes added seven winners and two blocks along with Heitman collecting six kills.
- Noble chipped in three kills, four aces and eight digs while Hoelperl posted 37 assists and 15 digs.
Up Next
- Vassar will close the regular season against the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. for Senior Day.
- Skidmore finishes the regular season on the road against Clark on Thursday.
