Irvine, Calif. - January 17, 2015 - The Springfield College men's volleyball program was defeated in straight sets by Concordia Irvine on Saturday afternoon by the scores of 25-23, 25-21, 25-16.

Springfield, which is the three-time defending NCAA Division III National Champion, entered the season ranked third in the AVCA Division III Preseason National Coaches Poll, and is now 0-2 on its West Coast trip.

Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico) had the best match of his young career as he produced nine kills at a .533 clip, while Shaun Ermi (Rush, N.Y.) added four kills and three blocks. Eric Johnson (Tustin, Calif.) ran Springfield's offense and racked up 27 assists to go along with a match-high nine digs as the Pride hit .193 on the day.

In the opening frame, Springfield owned an early 13-10 lead after consecutive hitting errors by Concordia.  The hosts answered back with a 12-5 push to regain a 22-18 lead, which Springfield would cut to one after three-straight points as kills from Ermi and Ryan Malone (Chicopee, Mass.) sandwiched a Sean Zuvich (San Pedro, Calif.) ace.  However, Concordia's offense proved to be to tough, as it finished the frame with 17 kills en route to the 25-23 win.

Springfield managed to hit just .077 in the second set and found themselves down 19-12 before making a 3-0 burst, capped off by a Padila Ayala ace. The Eagles surged ahead to earn set point at 24-17, but Ermi delivered a kill and teamed with Padilla Ayala for a pair of blocks to close within 24-21, only to have a Pride service error end the stanza.

After Padilla Ayala tallied his second kill in the third to bring Springfield within 10-8, the hosts rattled off the next six points to take a commanding 16-8 lead.  The Pride would not go away quietly though, answering with five unanswered points to force the hosts into a timeout after its third-straight attack error.  Out the break, Concordia scored the next three points and ultimatley closed out the match on a 9-3 run to complete the sweep.