Springfield, Mass. - February 21, 2015 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team was defeated in four sets by Harvard University in the 28th Annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Saturday night in Blake Arena.  The Crimson prevailed by the set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21.

Harvard improves to 8-4, while the Pride, which won a match in the Classic for the sixth-straight season this year, fell to 8-5.

Ryan Malone (Chicopee, Mass.) was sensational for the Pride in the loss, totaling 19 kills at a .441 clip to go along with eight digs and three aces.  Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added 12 kills, and Jason Mascoe (Uniondale, N.Y.) produced a career-high 10 kills in the middle at a .571 clip while posting three blocks.  Keaton Pieper (Dallas, Texas) led the Pride's offense to a .304 hitting percentage as he totaled 49 assists on the night.  Bother Pieper and Malone were All-Tournament Team selections.

Harvard was led by an MVP performance from Branden Clemens, who notched 17 kills at a .478 clip while delivering five blocks.  DJ White added 17 kills, while Casey White had nine kills and nine digs.  Nick Bendell ran the Crimson with 49 assists as the visitors hit .365 to earn their first-ever Morgan Classic title.

All told, the match featured 41 ties and 11 lead changes.

Springfield set the tone early with aggression from the end line and grabbed an 10-7 advantage in the opening set following back-to-back aces from Malone.  The Crimson used consecutive Clemens aces to tie things at 12 and would later take a 16-15 lead after Casey White found room through the Springfield block.  A block from Joseth Irizarry Feliciano (Adjuntas, Puerto Rico) and Pieper would tie things at 20-all, but DJ White took over with Harvard, producing three kills and an ace to lift the visitors to a 25-23 win.

Padilla Ayala blistered two-straight aces to begin the second set as the Pride took a 3-0 lead.   The Pride would continue its strong play, using a 4-0 burst to break a 6-all tie, which highlighted by a thunderous kill from Padilla Ayala in transition to force Harvard into a timeout.  The Pride's lead grew to 15-9 on a Malone kill off the block, but the Crimson battled back to within 21-18.  Angel Perez (Naranjito, Puerto Rico) heated up with three kills down the stretch and Padilla Ayala blasted his fourth kill of the frame to give the Pride a 25-21 win.

The Crimson took an 9-5 lead on two-straight Clemens cross-court kills in transition, forcing the Pride into a timeout in the third set.  Springfield would regain a 14-12 lead on Malone kill, only for Harvard to score three-straight to retake the lead.  The squads would go on to be tied seven times down the stretch, the last coming at 22-all.  A Springfield error and Casey White kill gave the Crimson set point, and after a sideout kill from Malone, Casey White sealed the 25-23 third-set win.

Springfield took a 6-3 lead to begin the four after Padilla Ayala chipped the Harvard block and after Harvard tied it at nine, Malone gave the Pride a two-point cushion with a kill and ace.  The teams would trade points and be tied seven ties until a Bendell kill and backrow kill from Clemens put the visitors on top, 19-17, as the Pride called for a timeout.  Springfield would get as close as 22-21, but the visitors used a Clemens kill, Marko Kostich ace, and double block from Clemens and Caleb Zimmick to wrap up the title win.

Springfield will play again on Wednesday for a showdown with nationally-ranked New Paltz.  Game time is set for 6:00 pm.

All-Tournament Team
Tim Moses, Concorida Irvine
Matt Tutino, Rivier
Ryan Malone, Springfield
Keaton Pieper, Springfield
DJ White, Harvard
Caleb Zimmick, Harvard
Branden Clemens, Harvard - MVP