Springfield, Mass. - March 25, 2015 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team picked up a straight-set victory over visiting Baruch College on Thursday night in Blake Arena by the set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-21.

The Pride, which was tied for fifth in the latest AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, improves to 15-6, while Baruch, which was 10th in this week's national poll, drops to 16-6.

The match pitted two of the top teams in the region, as both Springfield and Baruch appeared in today's initial NCAA Regional Rankings.  Springfield was ranked No. 2 in the East and the Bearcats were tied for sixth.

Greg Woods (Middletown, Conn.) posted a team-high 11 kills in the win, while Angel Perez (Naranjito, Puerto Rico) added 10 kills on 15 errorless swings to go along with a team-high six digs.  Keaton Pieper (Dallas, Texas) ran the offense with 32 assists as Springfield hit .365 on the night, and Jason Mascoe (Uniondale, N.Y.) registered match-high block blocks.

For the visitors, Nick Smith recorded a match-best 14 kills and teammate Chris Kaimis chipped in eight kills.  Scott Standring dished out 30 assists and was credited with seven digs for the Bearcats, which hit .193 in the match.

Playing for the first time since March 11, Springfield's offense didn't miss a beat in the opening set, hitting .526 behind four kills each from Woods and Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Springfield gained an early 8-4 advantage following consecutive Bearcat hitting errors, and the Pride's lead would grow to 14-8 on a Perez solo block.  The visitors battled back within 17-14 thanks to their first block of the night from Strandring and Yanni Malo, but Springfield regained a 21-16 cushion on a Woods overpass kill and eased their way to a 25-19 first set victory. 

With the score even at nine in the second set, Springfield used a Pieper kill to kickstart a 4-0 surge to force the Bearcats into a timeout.   Baruch would get as close as 16-13, but Springfield put together a four-point burst, this time highlighted by a pair of Eric Johnson (Tustin, Calif.) aces to push the lead to 20-13.  The Pride would go on to take a two-set lead after Padilla Ayala ripped a cross court kill for the 25-19 win.

In the third, Woods elevated for two early blocks, and coupled with two Padilla Ayala aces, Springfield earned a 5-1 start.  The Pride's lead ballooned to 12-7 on a thunderous swing from Padilla Ayala down the line, but Baruch would not go away as it battled back within 16-14 after consecutive Springfield hitting errors.  A sideout from Woods gave Springfield back a three-point lead, however the visitors would make it a one-point game on three different occasions until kills from Perez and Joseth Irizarry Feliciano (Adjuntas, Puerto Rico) pushed the lead to 21-18.  That was all the cushion Springfield would need as Perez buried two kills down the stretch to seal the win.

Springfield will host a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon against 11th-ranked Elmira at 3:00 pm and Newbury at 6:00 pm.