Springfield, Mass. – February 27, 2010 – Led by MVP Jeff Menzel’s 20-kill performance, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos swept Ohio State in three games in the championship match of the 2010 Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Saturday evening. UCSB won by the scores of 34-32, 32-30, 30-17.

The victory marks the third-straight season that a west coast team as USC won the Classic in 2008 and UC San Diego snagged last year’s crown. The Gauchos improved to 9-8 on the season, while the Buckeyes dropped to 10-6.

Menzel was sensational throughout the weekend, but especially in the championship match as he pounded out 20 kills, hitting .452, in just three games to go along with three aces, three digs, and two blocks. Teammate Cullen Irons added 15 kills on 29-errorless swings for a .517 hitting percentage, while both Scott Slaughter (11 kills, .562) and Jake Rosener (10 kills, .500) were terrific out of the middle. Sam Moisenco finished with a match-high seven blocks and Andy McGuire posted a match-best nine digs. Vince DeVany delivered 48 assists to lead his team to victory.

For Ohio State, Shawn Sangrey notched a match-high 21 kills in only three games as he paced the Buckeye attack. John Klanac was the only other member of OSU to hit for double-digit kills as he posted 14 kills, while both Mik Berzins and Kevin Heine added six kills apiece. Steven Kehoe handed out 41 assists to go along with a team-best four blocks.

As team, Ohio State hit .291, compared to the Gauchos blazing .475 hitting percentage.

Springfield 3, George Mason 1
The Springfield College men’s volleyball team picked up a four-game victory over conference rival George Mason in the consolation match of the 2010 Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Saturday evening. The Pride won by the set scores of 30-21, 25-30, 30-26, 31-29.

Springfield improves to 9-6 on the season, while the Patriots drop to 4-8. These two teams played for the third time in the last seven days, with the Pride taking two of the matches. After not beating the Patriots since 2004, Springfield managed to top GMU twice this week.

In a tournament that yearly features some of the best teams in the entire country, tonight’s win marks just the second time in 10 years that Springfield has won a match in the Classic. Now in its 23rd year overall, Springfield defeated UC San Diego in the opening match of the 2007 Classic for its last win.

As a team, Springfield hit .354, while the Patriots hit .257. Springfield held a 53-34 edge in digs, while each team recorded 14.5 team blocks.

AJ Nally had one of the finest matches of his career as he pounded out a match-high 21 kills at a .486 clip to go along with 11 digs and three blocks. Alistair Matthews notched 14 kills and 10 digs, while Mike Pelletier added 14 kills and four blocks. Cal Palumbo totaled eight kills, eight digs, and seven blocks and fellow middle Greg Falcone recorded six blocks and four kills of his own. Libero Alex Harrison led the with 11 digs and Eric Shoemaker finished with 56 assists, eight digs, five blocks, and four kills.

Michael Kvidahl came off the bench to lead George Mason with 20 kills in just three games. Luke Maloney added 13 kills, while Joe Norton was the only other Patriot with double figure kills with 11. Shaun Sibley posted a team-best seven blocks, while Norton and Lance Rogers each recorded six stuffs.

All Tournament Team
AJ Nally – Springfield
Shaun Sibley – George Mason
John Klanac – Ohio State
Shawn Sangrey – Ohio State
Vince DeVany – UC Santa Barbara
Andy McGuire – UC Santa Barbara
Jeff Menzel – UC Santa Barbara (MVP)

Serving Contest Winner
Brad Seislove – Springfield

Spike Contest Winner
Jeff Menzel – UC Santa Barbara

Sportsmanship Award
Alex Harrison – Springfield