POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Top-seed Vassar College, also the No. 1 team in the latest Division III NVA/AVCA National poll, hit .476 on its way to a 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 win over No. 3 seed St. John Fisher (ranked tenth nationally) fin the 2023 UVC Championship from Kenyon Hall on Sunday afternoon. Vassar won its second UVC Championship in the last three seasons and earns an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament.

The Brewers slammed 49 kills and added seven service aces to roll to the victory. Vassar hit .571 in the first set, .452 in the second set and .400 in the third set to pick up its 23rd straight win and improve to 24-1 this season.

Vassar junior setter Jacob Kim was named 2023 UVC Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after dishing out 78 assists over six sets in the two UVC Tournament games. He had 37 assists in Saturday's three-set win over MIT before dishing out 41 assists on Vassar's 49 kills to go along with five digs, three assisted blocks and two kills in the title game.

Vassar's Billy Fan enjoyed a career-best performance on the biggest stage, hitting .684 with 14 kills and seven digs. Andrew Kim, the 2023 UVC Player of the Year, hit .500 with 10 kills, five digs and four service aces, while Tristan Christofferson, the 2023 UVC Co-Rookie of the Year was perfect on the day with eight kills in as many attempts. Gavin van Beveren added seven kills and three blocks.

Jake Baker led the Cardinals with 11 kills and three assisted blocks, while Josh Bigford added seven kills and three digs. Tyler Cohen hit .600 with seven kills, while Gavin Newman added 19 assists and five digs for St. John Fisher (24-7), who was looking for its second straight UVC title. The Cardinals will look to earn an at-large bid into the 2023 NCAA Championship.

The Brewers raced out to an early 5-2 lead in set one, as Fan buried four kills in the early stages. St. John Fisher drew within two points at 9-7 following a kill from Matt Beiter and a solo block from Gabe La Robardiere before the Brewers answered with four straight points on a kill each from Fan and Christofferson along with an ace from senior Andrew Kim. The lead expanded to 19-11 on a winner from A. Kim and was pushed to 23-15 on a kill from senior Adam Gulick. Senior Gavin van Beveren clinched the winning point of the first set on a kill to win 25-16.

The opening points of the second set went back-and-forth as a kill from Bigford tied the set at nine. Following a winner from Beiter that trimmed the Brewers lead to 11-10, Vassar scored six straight tallies on a kill each from A. Kim, Christofferson and Gulick and a block from J. Kim and Christofferson to push the advantage to 17-10. An ace and a winner from A. Kim expanded the lead to 21-12 before the Cardinals cut the lead down to five on kills from Tyler Cohen and Beiter. Vassar took the final three points on a kill each from Fan and van Beveren along with an ace from Gulick to take the second set 25-17.

The Cardinals took an early lead in the third set as Bigford's back-to-back winners put St. John Fisher ahead 7-5. Vassar drew even at 10 following a Fan kill followed by a winner from Baker tying it at 12. Vassar then took nine of the next 11 points as two aces from A. Kim, kills from Fan, Christofferson and junior Andrew Guaragno and a block from Guaragno and Christofferson put the Brewers ahead 19-13. A kill from Cohen cut the advantage down to 21-16 before a kill and an ace from Guaragno along with a block from J. Kim and van Beveren put Vassar on match point. Following a rally, Fan buried the game-winning kill for the Brewers to complete the sweep 25-18 and earn its second UVC Championship along with winning its 23rd straight match.

The 2023 NCAA DIvision III Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament selections will be streamed and announced on Monday, April 17 at 10 a.m. on www.ncaa.com

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The members of the United Volleyball Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. For more on the UVC visit www.theuvc.org