Springfield, Mass. - April 3, 2015 - The Springfield College men's volleyball picked up a three-set victory over visiting Ramapo College in the opening match of the Springfield College Invitational on Friday night in Blake Arena by the set scores of 25-10, 25-16, 25-19.

The Pride, ranked sixth in this week's AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll and second in the East Region according to the NCAA Regional Rankings, improves to 19-6 on the season.  The loss drops Ramapo to 17-14 on the season.

Springfield won the match thanks to its serving, as the Pride registered 13 aces in the game.  Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico) put together a career-best performance, ripping seven aces in the game to go along with five kills.  Greg Woods (Middletown, Conn.) totaled a team-best six kills in two sets, and Jason Mascoe (Uniondale, N.Y.) produced four kills and three blocks.  Keaton Pieper (Dallas, Texas) notched three blocks as well and was credited with 11 assists and five digs in two sets, while Ryan Malone (Chicopee, Mass.) posted match-high seven digs.

Ramapo hit -.041 for the match as it committed 23 attack errors.  Ryan Casci led the way with a match-high seven kills, while both Peter Desvousges and Nick Amos had three blocks.  Alex Weissman led the offense with 18 assists.

Springfield stormed out to an 8-2 lead to begin the match as Eric Johnson (Tustin, Calif.) ripped an ace to force Ramapo into a timeout.  The Pride continued to be be aggressive from the end line, earning a 13-3 advantage following three-straight aces by Woods.  Springfield benefited from six aces in the opening set as it eased its way to a 25-10 win.

A huge block from Angel Perez (Naranjito, Puerto Rico) and Joseth Irizarry Feliciano (Adjuntas, Puerto Rico) pushed the Pride ahead 5-1 to start the second, and Mascoe later buried a kill in transition as the Roadrunners called for timeout trailing 10-5.  The visitors battled within 11-8, but thanks to a trio of aces from Padilla Ayala, the Pride poured on a five-point run to blow open the game with an 18-10 lead.  A stuff block from Mascoe and Sean Zuvich (San Pedro, Calif.) sealed a 25-16 second set win.

After dropping the first point of the third set, the Pride scored seven of the next eight points to take a 7-2 lead.  The visitors answered with an 10-3 surge of their own to gain a 12-10 lead.  Padilla Ayala's seventh ace of the night put Springfield back on top, 16-15, and Shaun Ermi (Rush, N.Y.) forced Ramapo into a timeout after he delivered a solo stuff at 20-17. The hosts ended the match with a 5-2 run, as back-to-back attack errors allowed the Pride to earn the sweep.

Springfield will now prep for a pair of matches on Saturday, beginning with a showndown with the nation's third-ranked team, New Paltz, at 12:00 pm.