Springfield, Mass. – October 6, 2012 – The Springfield College women’s volleyball team lost in the championship match of the Tom Hay Invitational on Saturday afternoon in a five-set contest with New Paltz. The Pride defeted Plymouth State in three sets earlier in the day to finish as the Invitational’s runner-up.

Springfield now stands at 17-4 on the year. The Pride had a two-set lead on New Paltz before Hawks stormed back for the 15-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-5 win. Earlier in the day, Springfield cruised past Plymouth State 25-14, 25-18, 25-17.

Springfield 3, Plymouth State 0
The Pride put on an offensive show in the the semifinal match, totaling 47 kills at a .364 clip in just three sets. Tessa Smolinski finished with a match-high 14 kills and 14 digs, while Mary Consol added 11 kills. Elise Brogan notched eight kills and three blocks, and classmate Daniella Crismani registered six kills. Molly Giannattasio was credited with 27 assists, four aces, and four digs running the Pride attack.

Plymouth State’s Casey Stoodley led her team with 10 kills and 10 digs, as the Panthers were held to a .018 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Cassie Pelton also had 10 digs and Kirsten Perrotta delivered 18 assists.

The Panthers struggled on offense to begin the match, committing seven attack errors on their first 14 swings. In turn, Springfield was able to open up 12-6 lead on a Consol swing in the middle off transition. Springfield continue to push the tempo, and Plymouth State burned their second timeout of the opening set after another attack error gave the Pride an 18-10 advantage. The Pride cruised the rest of the way, taking the opening set 25-14, as Consol posted four kills in the game.

In the second, it was Springfield that was hampered by attack errors, committing five in the early going to trail 14-12. The Pride would respond in impressive fashion, putting together a 5-1 spurt capped off by a Brogan overpass kill, to take a 17-15 lead and force the visitors into a timeout. The Pride stretched its lead to 24-17 on a Consol kill and would use a Kerry Purcell kill to finish the set, 25-18.

After the Panthers got within one at 11-10, Springfield posted a 4-1 run, highlighted by a pair of Smolinski kills to seize control of the set, 15-11. A sideout kill from Stoodley got the Panthers as close as they would get as Springfield, which totaled 20 kills hitting .594 in the set, wrapped up the victory with a 25-17 final set.

New Paltz 3, Springfield 2
The Pride raced out to an early two set lead, only to have the Hawks dominate the final three sets to claim the championship. The loss snapped the Pride’s 10-match winning streak to drop to 17-4, while New Paltz improves to 21-3 this year.

For the Pride, Smolinski posted 20 kills and 12 digs, while fellow outside, Crismani, tallied 15 digs and 10 kills. McGayhey added 10 kills and three blocks, and Giannattasio handed out 38 helpers.

New Paltz’s Marissa King, who was the Invitational’s MVP, recorded 59 assists and 10 digs leading her team to a win. Michelle Jacbson dominated from the outside, hammering 21 kills at a .450 clip to go along with 20 digs. Eleaner Skovgaard was great off the bench, producing 14 kills, while Becca Borquist registered 12 kills and 11 digs. Carrie Hack also added a match-best 24 digs.

Springfield continued its strong offensive play to start the championship match, posting 15 kills at a .308 clip. After a kill from Borquist brought the Hawks within 13-10, Springfield answered with a 5-1 push to take control at 18-11. The Pride wasnÂ't threatened the rest of the way, taking the set 25-15, behind four kills from both Crismani, Smolinski, and McGayhey

Jacobson and Smolinski went back-and-forth, each racking up eight kills in the second set.The seesaw affair saw the Pride gain a 17-14 lead following a block from McGayhey and Melissa McLaughlin. Despite trailing 22-17, the visitors would not go away as a Borquist kill made it 24-23 in favor of Springfield. The Pride went to Smolinski, who ripped a kill off the block for the two-point set win.

The visitors dictated the third set from the onset, snagging a 9-5 advantage following a solo stuff from Dana Vosilla. New Paltz increased its lead to five at 12-7, but Springfield battled back to 12-10 after two straight Runge aces. That would be as close as Springfield would not get any closer as New Paltz breezed their way to the 25-17 win. Jacobson posted five kills lead the way as the visitors hit .382 in the stanza.

New Paltz didnÂ't let up, storming out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth. Consol connected for a kill to get Springfield within two at 9-7, but another big run, this time a 5-0 spurt, put the Hawks in the driver seat once again. Hitting .379 in the game and bolstered by four kills from each Skovgaard and Katy Herbst, the match was headed to a fifth set.

The Hawks wasted little time completing their come back as they opened up the fifth set on a 9-1 run en route to the 15-5 victory.

Tom Hay Invitational
Saturday, October 7
New Paltz 3, Plymouth State 1 (25-21, 12-25, 25-12, 25-15)
Colby-Sawyer 3, Montclair State 2(17-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-15, 15-13)
Springfield 3, Plymouth State 0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-17)
New Paltz 3, Colby-Sawyer 1 (21-25, 25-10, 25-19, 25-18)
Montclair State 3 , Westfield State 0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-18)
New Paltz 3, Springfield 2 (15-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-5)

All Tournament Team
Casey Stoodley, Plymouth State
Kaitlyn Irwin, Montclair State
Ally Le-Bruno, Colby-Sawyer
Amy Entel, Springfield
Tessa Smolinski, Springfield
Dana Vosilla, New Paltz
Marissa King, New Paltz – MVP