Springfield, Mass. – March 23, 2011 – Alberto Bravo pounded out a match-high 16 kills at a .565 clip to power the Springfield College men’s volleyball team past Harvard in three games on Wednesday evening in Blake Arena. The Pride took down the Crimson 25-18, 25-21, 25-14.

For the first time this season, Springfield moved above .500 as it improve to 12-11 on the year, while Harvard falls 7-9 this season.

The Pride were very efficient on the offensive side of the ball, totaling 43 kills and hitting .437 as a team. Bravo’s 16 kills led the way, while Scott McMahan posted a career-best seven kills at a .545 clip. Both Mike Pelletier and Cal Palumbo added five kills, and Mike Becker dished out 38 assists and racked up three blocks, as did Palumbo. McMahan and Ferry each finished with a match-high six digs.

For the Crimson, Matt Jones totaled nine of the visitors 20 kills. Chris Gibbons registered five digs, and Derek Jansma came off the bench to record to solo blocks and nine assists.

Springfield led wire-to-wire in the opening frame and blew open a 12-9 game with a 7-2 spurt capped off by a McMahan kill. Springfield hit .524 in the game as Bravo connected for seven kills on all seven of his swings.

In the second game, a Michael Owen service ace evened the score at 11-all. A service error on the ensuing play gave Springfield a lead it would not surrender as the Pride once again clicked on offense, totaling 15 kills at hitting .440. Bravo posted five kills in the set, while McMahan added four for the hosts.

Springfield owned a slight 6-5 advantage in the first after an attack error, but reeled off a 10-2 burst fueled by a pair of service aces from Becker and Pelletier. Head coach Charlie Sullivan went to his bench towards the end of the set and Springfield completed the sweep by taking the fourth, 25-14.

The Pride will now gear up for a critical match against rival NYU on Sunday at 4:00 pm. The Violets enter the match ranked tied for fourth in Division III.