Waters Leads No. 10 Men's Volleyball Past Upstart Falcons

Recap, photo courtesy of Vassar

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 6, 2018) -- The No. 10 Vassar College men's volleyball team got a career-high 14 kills from freshman Jefferson Waters Friday evening, using his offensive output to push past the Falcons in three games in non-conference play from Kenyon Hall.

The Brewers (19-6) upped their win streak to 10 matches with the victory thanks to the career night from the freshman southpaw, who eclipsed his previous match best of 12 kills against Neumann back on January 26. Waters hit .571 for his 21 attempts on the evening, adding three service aces and four digs.

The Brewers came out of the gate on fire though, hitting .542 in the opening set, converting 17 of their 24 attacking attempts to roll to the victory. Waters led the barrage for the Brewers in the first game, posting five kills, while sophomores Zach Bygall and Kevin Ros along with junior George Diehl each had three attack finishes.

In the second game, Messiah (14-9) trailed early at 11-8 forcing a timeout, but the Falcons came out of the stoppage with a renewed spirit. The visitors tallied the next five points to turn a three-point deficit into a two-point lead at 13-11 after a kill from Matt Knab. After a Brewers timeout, Vassar pulled back even at 14-all after an ace by Bygall, and then tallied six of the next seven points to take control. Ros led the Brewers with five kills on six swings in the second set.

In the third set, Vassar's offense again was on full display, hammering down 19 kills in the period. Waters posted kills on all seven of his attacks, while Diehl added five terminations as well to fend off a late rally by the Falcons. The 19 kills in a set for the Brewers were the most in a set this season, while the 48 total terminations was the most in a three-set match for Vassar this year.

Along with Waters, Vassar had two other players in double-digit kills, as Diehl hit .350 on 20 attempts to chalk up 11 kills while adding six digs. Ros finished with 10 kills while attacking at a .389 clip, and senior Zechariah Lee was huge as well with 36 assists, eight digs, two blocks and five kills. Vassar hit .412 (48-13-85) for the match, which was the second-highest of the year eclipsed only by the .449 clip against Neumann.

Messiah was paced by the eight kills from Travis Hoover, while Knab ended the match with seven kills and six digs. Brad Nase also added 23 assists and four digs for the Falcons, who are competing in their first year as an NCAA varsity program.

The Brewers will turn right around less than a day later for more non-conference action, hosting Baruch College (3 p.m.) and Eastern Mennonite University (7 p.m.) in Kenyon Hall Saturday to finish the 2018 regular season. Vassar will honor its three seniors, Brian Manley, Lee and Matthew Knigge prior to the 3 p.m. match with Baruch College.

--VASSAR--