Brewers Drop 0-3 Decision to No. 1 Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, MA– The Vassar College men’s volleyball team dropped a non-conference 0-3 decision to the No. 1 Springfield Pride Friday evening.

The Brewers now move to a record of 8-5 on for their 2019 campaign.

Despite the loss, two Brewers Jake Kaplan and Jefferson Waters notched eight kills while George Diehl secured seven. Ryan Duchemin, Joe Hendrickson, and Waters all stopped three blocks.

Additionally, Daniel Halberg and Kevin Ros dished out 15 assists each. Meanwhile, Matt Usui earned eight digs and Diehl and Ros covered three.

The match opened with the first set tight, trading the lead. Neither team leading more than two points over its opponent. The score deadlocked at 17, Springfield gained some momentum via Vassar errors and found themselves at with a three point advantage. The Brewers would answer by going on a 2-1 run but the Pride would attack and secure the set 25-20.

Set two of the match opened in similar fashion; going point for point with no clear offensive advantage. A tied set at 10, the Pride sparked a forward push with a 5-1 run, forcing a Vassar timeout. Upon breaking from the timeout, Vassar edged out three more points. Ben Brody entered the match for the Brewers and served up two helpers to help the Brewers close the gap to one. Though, the Pride would maintain their lead and win the set 25-19.

In the final set of the match, the Brewers went down swinging. This was their best set, hitting .281 with 13 kills. Springfield jumped to an early 6-3 lead, though a Waters and Kaplan kill paired with two Pride attacking errors leveled the court. Again, Vassar and Springfield found themselves trading points, with no clear advantage. A kill by Waters leveled the score to 23. However, a two Springfield kills and a service ace would allow the Pride to go on a 3-1 run and close out the match 26-24.