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After a 0-4 performance in last year’s Vassar Volleyball Invitational, the women’s volleyball team won the title at this year’s event, improving their regular season record to 20-8. En route to their Invitational Championship, Vassar went 3-1 defeating Sage College, University of Rochester and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia before eventually losing to Stevens Institute of Technology.
The Brewers started off the weekend well, winning their first match 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-19) over Sage. The Brewers were led in the match by freshman hitter Chloe McGuire, who was named MVP of the Invitational with 15 kills and eight digs. Freshman setter Hilary Koenigs also came up big for the Brewers with 36 of the team’s 37 set assists. Junior defensive specialist Chelsea Mottern contributed 25 digs to the Brewers’ cause.
The real treat of the tournament was Friday’s second match, a 3-2 (14-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 15-13) slugfest with Rochester. The match went right down to the wire: Vassar came back to tie after a poor first set, only to fall behind again in the third, before finally battling back and winning the final two sets. McGuire once again was prominent in the Vassar victory, leading the team with 11 kills and 21 digs. Koenigs, who joined McGuire on the All-Invitational team, added 31 set assists and 11 digs.
Beginning the second day of play, Vassar picked up where they left off, defeating SUNY Fredonia 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-20). For the Brewers, the match closely resembled the previous night’s duel with Rochester. Once again the team trailed early before coming back. Again, McGuire led Vassar in kills and digs—this time with 14 kills and 21 digs—while Koenigs led the team with 37 assists. Senior Tess Johnson contributed 11 kills while Sarah Potts ’10 contributed four service aces and four block assists. The Brewers could not continue their winning ways in their final match of the tournament, though, and they dropped a tough loss to Stevens 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-17). Despite the loss, Vassar still won the Invitational by virtue of their 3-1 record in the tournament and their victory over fellow 3-1 team SUNY Fredonia.
With the Vassar Invitational complete, the Brewers will now turn their attention towards regaining the Liberty League Championship. The Invitational Championship title should be excellent preparation for this weekend’s attempt to win the Brewers’ first Liberty League Championship since 2006 this weekend in the Walker Field House. With solid all-around play, including a hitter, McGuire, winning the Invitational MVP and a setter, Koenigs, being named to the All-Tournament team, plus two players—McGuire and Mottern—recording a total of 137 digs (17.125 per player per game), the Brewers should build on this weekend’s successes.
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