Springfield, Mass. – February 18, 2012 – The Springfield College men’s volleyball team swept both Hunter and Newbury as it hosted a tri-match on Saturday in Blake Arena. The Pride bested Hunter 25-18, 25-19, 25-18, before cruising past Newbury, 25-13, 25-13, 25-16.

The Pride, which is currently ranked second in the country, improves to 11-4, while Hunter drops to 4-7 and Newbury falls to 3-7.

Against Hunter, Jimmy O’Leary finished the night with 10 kills at a .438 clip to go along with three blocks, while John Coen posted 10 kills while hitting .421 and racking up four digs and two aces. Mike Pelletier chipped in nine kills and five digs, while Greg Falcone posted seven kills, four aces, and three blocks. Keaton Pieper dished out 37 assists as he led Springfield to a .325 hitting percentage.

For the visitors, Christopher Newcomb was credited with a match-high 13 kills and added six digs. Stanley Martinez registered 24 assists and picked up a match-high eight digs. Jerin Kallickal added five kills and John Gemegah notched three blocks.

The Hawks roared out to a 9-4 lead to start the opening set after Newcomb’s ace painted the back line. Springfield struggled with its serve receive, unable to chip away at the Hunter lead, as Gemegah converted for a kill to give the visitors a 15-11 advantage. O’Leary powered home a kill to side-out, which ultimatley kick-started an 11-1 spurt which allowed Springfield to gain a 22-16 lead after a Pelletier ace. Coen posted his third kill of the set on match point as Springfield prevailed 25-18.

In the second, a triple block from Martinez, Kallickal, and Braien Otsla evened things at eight apiece. The Pride once again used a big run, this time an 8-2 spurt, as it took control of the game with a 16-10 lead after another Coen kill. A Newcomb kill at 24-19 would get the Hawks within five, but a service error on the ensuing point gave Springfield a two-set lead.

The Pride hit .474 in the third as it was never really threatened. Coen tallied five kills on all five of his swings and the team registered six aces, including three by Falcone, to complete the three-game sweep.

Against Newbury, Alistair Matthews totaled six kills at a .750 clip to go along with five blocks and four aces to lead the way for Springfield. In his first collegiate start at middle, Jason Mascoe controlled the net with 10 blocks, while both Mike Freytag and Tyler Tanaka tallied five kills. Mike Becker directed Springfield’s offense to a .490 hitting percentage as he handed out 25 assists while chipping in four blocks. Springfield registered 30 kills on 49 swings with just six errors.

For Newbury, only three players recorded kills, with Chris Chin’s eight kills leading the way. Danny Kim registered six kills and Chi Yin Li added another rive. Alex Amylon notched a team-best four digs and Cody Braden tallied 14 assists. Newbury was held to a -.075 hitting percentage for the match.