POUGHKEEPSIE, NY—With sole possession of first place in the NECVA Metro division on the line, men's volleyball withstood a strong offensive attack from the visiting Ramapo Roadrunners, taking the match 30-25, 24-30, 30-28, 23-30, 15-11. The No. 9 Roadrunners entered the day as the top attacking team in the nation, at .343, but No. 4 Vassar picked up 13 team blocks en route to the victory.

With the win, the Brewers improve to 15-5 overall, and 7-0 in conference play. Ramapo picked up their third loss of the season, falling to 20-3 and 5-1.

After splitting the first four games with Ramapo, Vassar opened the tiebreaking fifth game with a 5-2 lead. Three kills from TC Elsasser (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) helped to pull the Roadrunners within a point at 7-6. The Brewers' Phil Tully (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) responded with an impressive showing of his own, picking up three kills in the span of five points to extend the Vassar lead to 12-9. The teams traded points to the match's conclusion, with Steve Micucci (Millis, MA/Millis) getting the final kill.

In the opening game, the Brewers jumped put to a 10-4 lead behind strong team serving. With four team blocks, Vassar prevented the Roadrunners from putting together an offensive rally. Down 24-17, Ramapo finally got some momentum scoring six straight points behind the serving of Tom Kohler (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) to pull within one point. Tully stopped the run with a kill down the line, Micucci and Tom Pawlowksi (Havertown, PA/Haverford) led the Brewers to the win down the stretch with two kills each.

The two teams played to a 10-10 tie to start the second game. With Kurt Backlund (Old Bridge, NJ/St. Joseph) and Elsasser serving, Ramapo put together a 10-3 run that put them firmly in control of the game and in position to tie the match.

In the closest contest of the afternoon, neither team ever held more than a three point lead in game three. With Vassar down 9-6, Scott Leserman (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) sparked a Brewer rally with three straight kills to put his team up 13-12. Vassar held the lead for the remainder of the game, but could not pull away from Ramapo. Brendan Whitford (Lyndhurst, NJ/ St. Peter's Prep) twice registered kills that brought his squad within a point, including a score that pulled the score to 28-27.

The Roadrunners got four long scoring runs to take a 15-8 lead in game four, a big enough advantage to set up the decisive fifth game. Elsasser and Whitford each recorded three kills to open the game. Ramapo's defense was also a key factor, with four blocks in the game.

Micucci led the Brewers with 20 kills and a .593 attack percentage. Leserman added 13 kills and a team-high 11 digs.

Elsasser was a two-way powerhouse for Ramaapo, getting 25 kills against 4 errors and 8 total blocks. Whitford contributed 23 kills.