Cambridge, Mass. – September 28, 2010 – After dropping the opening set, the Springfield College women’s volleyball team rallied for a 3-1 victory at MIT on Tuesday in a key New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match. The Pride won by the set scores of 23-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-19.
The win makes Springfield 14-2 on the year, including a perfect 4-0 record in league play. The loss lowered the EngineersÂ' ledger to 10-7 on the year and 2-2 in conference play.
Springfield had a balanced attack which featured four players recording double-digit kills. Heather Lively posted a team-best 12 kills, while Lauren Torvi, Sarah Lang-Rodean, and Tessa Smolinski all finished with 11 kills. Kelsea Hellyar delivered 44 assists in the win for the visitors.
With the opening frame tied at six, Springfield mounted a 10-4 run which later resulted in a timeout by MIT. Following the break, the Engineers chipped away at the deficit and capitalized on a pair of miscues to even the set at 20. Each side traded points as strike by Torvi put Springfield ahead, 23-22. The Cardinal and Gray rallied with three straight points to capture the set.
 In the second set, MIT gradually established a 9-6 edge. The Pride responded with a 13-3 run to establish its largest margin of the night (19-12). The Engineers then strung together seven consecutive points, featuring four kills by Trinity Leonard, to even the score at 19. After a Springfield timeout, Smolinski registered back-to-back kills to give her squad some breathing room. MIT stayed within striking distance and eventually knotted the frame at 23 on a kill from Jenny Li and hitting error by the Pride. A service error gave Springfield set point, but a hit from Kelly Schulte off the visitorsÂ' block extended the set. Lively registered a kill while Torvi and Kim Giaquinto collaborated for a block to clinch the game.
 MIT quickly created a 6-2 lead in the third frame, but the Pride recorded nine out of the next 10 points to go ahead for good. The Engineers narrowed the gap to one on seven occasions, the last at 21-20. What proved to be TorviÂ's third consecutive kill coupled with a hitting miscue by the hosts prompted a timeout by MIT. The Engineers capitalized on a service error; however a hitting error resulted in set point (24-21). A hit from Kelly Schulte extended the game, but SmolinskiÂ's strike secured the win.
 Springfield jumped out to a 12-6 advantage in the final set, but MIT countered with an 11-6 spurt to close the gap to one (18-17). The Pride generated a late rally to score seven of the last nine points of the night.
 Leonard tallied 16 kills, three blocks, and two aces while Li posted 15 kills. Schulte notched seven kills and two blocks as Cecily Joujon-Roche contributed four blocks and two aces. Sharon Hao totaled 36 assists and six digs while Katie Spielbauer collected 12 digs.
The Pride will hit the road again this weekend as it competes in the Johnson and Wales Invitational. On Friday at 4:00 pm, the Pride will begin its weekend play as it challenges Plymouth State.
