ELMIRA, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team pushed No. 4 Vassar College to the brink as the Cardinals fell in the fifth set in the semifinal round of the United Volleyball Conference Championship inside Speidel Gymnasium.  With the defeat, Fisher, which is ranked seventh in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, fell to 7-6 while the Brewers improved to 7-3 and advanced to Sunday's finale where it will face SUNY New Paltz for the UVC title.

Fisher, which is among the top regionally-ranked teams in Division III, will await word on whether or not it will receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship at 10 a.m. on Monday.  The selection show can be viewed at www.ncaa.com.

After falling in the first set, Fisher battled back in the second and built an early 15-9 lead after scoring five unanswered points including two kills from Jake Baker.  As the frame wore on, the lead would grow to as many as seven points before Vassar cut the deficit to five.  Leading 21-16, Fisher closed out the set with four of the next five points including a service ace from Paul Hackford to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Brewers would take a 2-1 lead after claiming the third set, but Fisher would open up an 8-6 edge in the fourth following back-to-back errors by Vassar.  As the match continued, the lead changed sides two more times before Fisher gained control with a kill from Ivan Lopez to hold a 16-14 edge. 

From there, the Cardinals would score five of the next seven points including four straight kills to open up a 23-18 cushion.  Trailing by five, Vassar was able to pull to within three, but the Brewers gave Fisher its 25th points after serving into the net.

With a fifth set on the horizon and a spot in the UVC Championship on the line, Fisher would take a 5-4 lead in the final frame after Dylan Urbanski set up Baker at the net for a kill.  Both teams continued to battle down the stretch with the Brewers eventually building a four-point lead, 14-10.  Fisher would close in on Vassar with two quick points including an ace from Matt Cieplicki, but the Brewers hammered home a kill to seal the win.

Baker put away a career-high 15 kills in the loss to go along with three digs while Paul Hackford returned to the lineup with nine kills, and eight digs.  Lopez notched seven kills and had two block assists while David Cerqua was credited with a team-leading nine digs over five sets.  Urbanski finished with four kills, 37 assists and five digs for Fisher.