Nashua, N.H. - February 12, 2015 - Senior Angel Perez (Naranjito Puerto Rico) erupted for a career-high 21 kills at a .500 clip to power the Springfied College men's volleyball team to a four-set win at Rivier University on Thursday night.

Set scores on the night were 25-14, 21-25, 25-22, 27-25 in favor of the Pride.

Springfield, which was ranked fifth in the latest AVCA Division III National Poll, rebounded after just its sixth loss to a Division III team in the past four years last Saturday to improve to 6-3 on the year.

Perez came through for the Pride in a huge in-region showdown as he hammered 21 kills on 38 swings, committing just two errors, to go along with eight digs a team-best three blocks.

Eric Johnson (Tustin, Calif.) ran the Springfield offense as he totaled 36 assists on the night, while Jason Mascoe (Uniondale, N.Y.) totaled eight kills, hitting .429.  Matthew Peretto (Vallejo, Calif.) anchored the defense with 20 career-best digs.

In the opening set, the Pride benefited from three-straight Rivier miscues to earn an 6-1 lead to start things off.  The hosts would climb within 13-10, but a sideout kill from Johnson kickstarted a 9-1 Pride surge as it seized control and eventually coasted to a 25-14 win.  Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) provided the key spark with three service aces in the run, while Perez was dominant in the set, posting six kills on nine errorless attempts.

The second set featured eight ties, the last coming at 18 all.  Rivier would take advantage of a three Springfield errors in the next five points to gain a 22-19 cushion, which it would later turn into a 25-21 win following its first service ace of the night.

Springfield enjoyed another hot start to begin the third set, taking a 6-2 lead thanks to early aces from Ryan Malone (Chicopee, Mass.) and Tucker Evans (Midlothian, Va.).  Springfield would maintain its four-point cushion, taking a 19-15 lead, however Rivier would not back down and gritted its way back to even things at 21-all.  Mascoe delivered down the strech for Springfield, putting away a pair of kills before Perez gave Springfield the 25-22 win following his fourth kill of the stanza.

Despite the Pride putting together its best offensive showing in the fourth, as it notched 15 kills at a .400 clip, the set was tied 14 times and featured six lead changes.  A kill from Shaun Ermi (Rush, N.Y.) gave Springfield match point at 24-20, only to have the Raiders score four-straight to tie things up.  After the teams traded points, Malone put away his seventh kill of the night, and Sean Zuvich (San Pedro, Calif.) sealed the win as the Pride picked up the critical in-region win over the Raiders.

Springfield will host a tri-match on Saturday afternoon with Hunter and Wentworth beginning at 3:00 pm.