Vassar Brewers Roll Past Skidmore and Union

POUGHKEEPSIE – The Vassar College women’s volleyball team finished off a perfect Liberty League weekend on Saturday afternoon, dispatching of both Skidmore College and Union College in straight sets in conference action from the Athletics and Fitness Center. VC knocked off Skidmore with scores of 25-21, 25-16 and 25-20, while ending the day with a 25-23, 25-15 and 25-11 win over Union.

Vassar has now won 11 of its last 12 matches, while posting a 7-1 record through the first eight contests of Liberty League play. The Brewers are using a dominating, balanced offense to put intense pressure on opposition, as Vassar hit .283 against Skidmore and .374 versus Union. VC also held both teams to just 28 kills, outscoring its opponents 119.0-68.0.

“To close out the weekend with two solid sweeps feels great,” said head coach Jonathan Penn. “The team worked incredibly hard and has a lot to be proud of. It will be strange to not see another League match for almost a month – a lot will change – but its nice to have those wins under our belt after seeing everyone.”

The wins catapulted Vassar into first place in the conference, though RIT is looming at 6-2 after the first two weekends of play within the League. Clarkson University is also 3-1, having this weekend off from conference action.

Vassar 3, Skidmore 0
Vassar put three players in double digits for kills, and sophomore Annie MacMillan continued to rack up assists with 42 more against Skidmore as VC rolled to the three-set win. The Brewers posted 52 terminations in the win, led by the 14 each from senior Gabby Miller and sophomore Devan Gallagher.

In the first set, the two teams battled back-and-forth, but Vassar chalked up a 9-2 run with the score 15-13 to take a 24-16 lead. Skidmore chalked up five in a row to make the home crowd nervous, but Miller pounded home her sixth kill of the set to put VC up 1-0 in the match.

The second set saw Skidmore leading at 8-6 after a kill by Katy Ehnstrom, but Vassar pushed back thanks to the play from Gallagher to capture the second set. The 2015 Liberty League Rookie of the Year totaled eight kills in the set, while VC totaled 18 terminations while swinging at a .457 attacking clip to take a 2-0 lead.

In the final game, Skidmore repeated its efforts by jumping out early, scoring the first five points of the set. The Brewers rallied to tie the game at seven on a kill from freshman Jane McLeod, and the game was tight through the middle part, as VC once again tied the set at 17 on another finish from McLeod.

That’s where the Brewers took control, posting eight of the final 11 points, capped by the match-winner on a kill from Lauren Ninkovich from her feet.

McLeod made the most of her 19 swings, chalking up 12 kills while hitting a very strong .579. Gallagher attacked at a .370 clip, while Ninkovich led all players with 10 digs. Junior Bria Corham supplemented the Brewers with five kills and eight digs, and Alex Sams added three kills and two aces. Freshman Jordan Schreeder also had two aces for VC.

Vassar 3, Union 0
The Dutchwomen of Union College pushed Vassar to its limit in the first set, but the Brewers came alive in the second set to pick up the second victory of the day. McLeod continued to do what she does best, which is crushing volleyballs to the floor. The freshman finished with a match-best 15 terminations in the nightcap, hitting .565 on 23 attempts, erring twice.
Gallagher also chalked up 13 kills, hitting .545, adding three assisted rejections. Miller just missed another match with double-digit kills, registering nine while adding five digs and two blocks.

MacMillan handed out 39 assists to go with eight digs and senior Sierra Tobin chalked up 11 digs. Schreeder posted two more aces along with seven digs, and Alex Sams killed four of her seven attempts. Freshman Emily Overman also played five points, but made the most of them, posting two assisted blocks but pushing back three Union attacks on one play.
“Both teams we worked hard on maintaining our own energy…we’re really focusing on how we can harness on our energy so we can be the best we can be out there,” said Miller.

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