March 17, 2006

Final Stats

Poughkeepsie, NY - Junior John Breen (North Andover, MA) led all player with 27 kills and freshman Barry Smith (Shelton, CT) added 19 kills as Sacred Heart oulasted Vassar, 3-2, in men's volleyball action Friday night at Kenyon Hall.

In a battle of two EIVA Hay Division opponents looking for their first division win of the season, the Pioneers oulasted the Brewers 30-28, 34-36, 31-29, 26-30, 15-11.

Sacred Heart's victory was its first of the year after 12 straight losses. The Pioneers are 1-12, 1-7 on the season. Vassar, which fought hard all night, falls to 1-13, 0-10 on the season.

In a see-saw match separated by only 14 total points in five games, the match was not without its drama, including games two and four, won by Vassar 36-34 and 30-26 to force a deciding fifth game.

In the fifth game, Sacred Heart rallied to take a 10-8 lead on a kill from Brian Rosa (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and was able to win five of the next eight points with Dan DuVall (Poolesville, NY) and Brendan Donohue (Mellville, NY) serving.

Sacred Heart got a 27 kill night from Breen and 19 from Barry Smith. Rosa chipped in with 15. DuVall had a game-high 61 assists. Brent Monden (Kanehoe, HI) was the team dig leader with 20.

For the Brewers, three players had double figures in kills, led by freshman John Micucci with 15, sophomore Tom Pawlowski with 14 and freshman John Kessenich with 10.

Senior Craig Lutterbein had a strong game, collecting 51 assists on the night.

To reach a fifth game, Vassar won 30-26, taking control the match with the score 20-16 and building a 28-22 lead before the Pioneers mounted a late comeback.

The match started in a see-saw fashion, with both teams trading point for point and Vassar rallying from 28-22 to tie the match at 28-28. Sacred Heart's DuVall had the final two kills for the 30-28 win.

In game two, a mirror image of the first game, a Rosa kill prohibited VC from winning the match 30-28. The Brewers were able to secure the two point win on back-to-back kills by Pawlowski.

The third game, won by Sacred Heart 31-29, was featured neither team mounting more than a three-point lead. Sacred Heart closed out a 28-28 game with three of the next four points, on two kills by Rosa and one by Breen, who had 10 on the night.

The Pioneers are continue their road trip on Tuesday when they visit Springfield on Tuesday night.