OWINGS MILLS, MD - The No. 1 Vassar College Men's Volleyball team saw its magical season conclude on Friday evening as the Brewers fell 25-20, 25-21, 25-20 against No. 5 North Central in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball National Semifinals on the campus of Stevenson University. Vassar's season ends with a 26-2 overall record, which ties the school record for wins, while the Cardinals will take on No. 2 Stevens in the National Championship on Sunday afternoon.

North Central opened up the first set with an 8-2 lead as Luke Schmidt and Ben Williams buried multiple kills each along with a winner from Jared Moser. Vassar trimmed the lead down to 15-11 on back-to-back kills from senior Gavin van Beveren before the Cardinals grew its lead back to eight at 21-13 on two kills and an ace from Moser. Four straight points from Vassar including a block from senior Adam Gulick and freshman Tristan Christofferson and an ace from senior Andrew Kim put the Brewers within four. The Cardinals took the first set 25-20 on a VC error.

Vassar took a 10-7 lead in the second set as kills from Gulick and sophomore Billy Fan put the Brewers ahead. Following a kill from sophomore Payne Lounsbery to keep the Vassar lead at 14-13, North Central tallied four straight on winners from Moser to take a 17-14 lead. The Cardinals and Brewers traded points throughout the rest of the set and North Central took the second set on a service error at 25-21.

Both teams traded points in the early stages of the third set as a kill from Lounsbery and a NC error tied the set at nine apiece. An A. Kim tied the set at 13 before two aces from Tyler Donovan and a kill from Mitchell Hester and Moser pushed the Cardinals ahead 17-13. North Central expanded its lead to 21-16 on a kill from Williams before it was cut to three after a kill from Gulick and a block from Lounsbery. Another ace from Donovan sent the Cardinals to a three-set victory and a chance to win a National Championship on Sunday afternoon.

Gulick finished with eight kills, two blocks and seven digs for Vassar while A. Kim tallied seven kills, an ace and three digs. van Beveren added six kills and four blocks while Christofferson recorded five kills and one block. Junior Jacob Kim handed out 28 assists and lifted two digs along with senior Jorge Adames Reyes tallying six digs.

Williams buried a match-high 16 kills to go with five digs while Moser recorded nine kills, two aces and five digs for North Central. Donovan finished with 31 assists, three kills, three aces and eight digs along with Parker Nelson lifting a match-high nine digs.

Vassar's season ends at 26-2 overall. The Brewers won the 2023 UVC Championship and had three first team All-Americans. Head coach Richard Gary was named the 2023 AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year, while Jacob Kim was the 2023 AVCA Division III National Player of the Year.

ABOUT THE UNITED VOLLEYBALL CONFERENCE
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.