SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College volleyball team came roaring back from a pair of deficits to upend visiting Vassar in five sets (17-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 15-9) on Friday night to clinch a spot in the Liberty League Tournament.

• Skidmore (11-9, 3-3 Liberty League) holds all necessary tiebreaks over teams below it in any potential tie at 3-5. The Thoroughbreds are currently in a tie for fourth and can finish as high as third.
• Vassar (13-7, 2-4) is hanging onto the final postseason spot with two matches remaining.
• None of the first four sets were particularly close despite the shifting momentum. The first two featured only one tie with no lead changes before a combined three ties and two lead changes over the third and fourth. The fifth the most competitive despite Skidmore's runaway finish.
• Vassar led 5-3 in the decider set when five-straight Skidmore kills – including three from Jazlin Chen – swung the lead to 8-5.
• The Brewers responded with four unanswered of their own, briefly giving them a one-point edge.
• Skidmore ran the table the rest of the way, scoring the match's final seven points without the assistance of a Vassar error. The decisive stretch featured four more Chen kills, a Madison Manning ace, and two kills - including the clincher - from Natalie Pedersen.
• Pedersen finished with a match-high 17 kills on .412 hitting.
• Chen totaled 13 kills, seven of them in her dominant fifth set, with three blocks (one solo).
• Maya Stolarz and Katy O'Connell shared the match lead with six block assists apiece. Stolarz also had nine kills and three digs, while O'Connell accounted for six out of Skidmore's 15 aces.
• Catriona Hoelperl finished with five aces with 42 assists and 11 digs.
• Marlowe McIntyre racked up 17 digs and seven assists.
• For Vassar, Maura McAusland paced the offense with 13 kills, while Holland Kaplan had 12 and Erin Lovett 11.
• Skidmore struck .236 as a team, surpassing .500 in both the second and fifth sets.
• After hitting .583 in the opening frame, Vassar finished below .230 in each of the final four and .180 overall.
• The Thoroughbreds also out-blocked the Brewers 9-4.

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Skidmore will host Bard on Saturday at 2 p.m. looking for its fifth win in six matches.