#8 Vassar defeats #15 New Paltz in cross town rival

NEW PALTZ, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team fell to visiting Vassar College 3-1 (30-28, 22-30, 22-30, 22-30) Wednesday night in the Hawk Center.

In set one, the Hawks jumped out quickly scoring five of the first six points, but Vassar stormed back tying the contest at 7-7. The teams would trade points until the Brewers rolled off three points in a row to take a 13-11 advantage. The Hawks would tie it at 14-14 and the teams would continue to trade points. With the game tied at 24-24, the Hawks scored two straight points to give them some breathing room and was able to hold off the Brewers for the 30-28 win.

Freshman middle hitter Kevin Stross (Port Washington, NY/Schreiber) led the Hawks with 10 kills and had a .643 hitting percentage. Senior middle hitter Jake Moore (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) added eight kills and four digs. Sophomore setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) dished out 18 assists in the set one victory.

Phil Tully has five kills and five digs and Steve Micucci added four kills for the Brewers in set one. John Kessenich handed out ten assists for Vassar.

In set two, the game was tied at 3-3 and the Brewers scored seven of the next nine points to take a 10-5 advantage. The Hawks were able to pull within three at 13-10, but the Brewers quickly shut down the Hawks and took control of the set.

Junior middle Daniel Liberto (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta) led the Hawks with four kills and senior outside hitter Ryan Huberty (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had three kills. Cassius handed out six assists and freshman setter Frank Ciccone (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) handed four assists.

Tully led the Brewers with four kills and two aces and Kessenich handed out 10 assists and had three aces.

In set three, the game was tied at 4-4 before Vassar took control of the set scoring six of the next nine points to take a 10-7 lead. Vassar held a 14-9 advantage and rattled off six of the next eights points to take a 20-11 advantage and the Hawks were unable to recover.

Liberto and Moore each tallied three kills apiece for the Hawks and Cassius handed out 11 assists.

Tully led the Brewers with four kills and two blocks and Kessenich handed out 12 assists and had two blocks.

In set four, the score was tied 6-6 before Vassar scored six straight points to take a 12-6 lead. The Hawks responded by scoring nine of the next 14 points to pull with two at 17-15. Vassar quickly scored 10 of the next 15 points to seal the deal and take set four.

Huberty led the Hawks with six kills and had a .625 hitting percentage and Ciccone handed out eight assists. Stross and Liberto each tallied three kills in set four.

Vassar’s Tully led with five kills and three digs and Evan Fredericksen and Micucci each had three kills apiece. Kessenich handed out 10 assists and finished the game with 42 assists, five blocks and six aces. Tully finished with a game-high 18 kills and 10 digs and Fredericksen added 12 kills. Scott Leserman had a game-high 12 digs and Vassar improves to 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the NECVA.

Stross led the Hawks with 17 kills and Moore added 13 kills and 11 digs. Cassius handed out 38 kills and Ciccone handed 13 assists. Liberto finished with 10 kills and Huberty finished with 12 kills and six digs for the Hawks. The Hawks fall to 13-9 overall and 4-3 in the NECVA.

The Hawks return to the court Friday against Philadelphia Biblical at 7 p.m. on the campus of Philadelphia Biblical.