Beverly, Mass. - September 11, 2015 - The Springfield College women's volleyball bounced back from its first loss of the 2015 campaign with a pair of three-game sweeps against Bowdoin and Bates on Friday at Endicott College in the MIT Invitational.

Springfield is now 6-1 on the year and will continue the MIT Invitational on Saturday when it takes on Cabrini and Brandeis at MIT.

Springfield 3, Bowdoin 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-16)

Both Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) led Springfield with nine kills and two blocks each, while Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.) delivered eight kills on 14 errorless swings for a .571 hitting percentage.  Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) and Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) combined for 37 assists as Springfield hit .234.  Defensively, Kerry Purcell (Massapequa, N.Y.) led all players with 16 digs, followed by a 14-dig effort from Mawdsley.

After falling behind 5-0 to start the match, Springfield found its rhythm and eventually took a 13-12 lead on an ace from Purcell.  The Pride's lead would grow to as much as five, earning set point at 24-19 following a Bowdoin attack error, only to have Bowdoin answer with four-straight points, including three kills from Christy Jewitt.  McGayhey finally stopped the run, pounding a a kill down the line for the 25-23 victory.

Another sluggish start found the Pride down 6-3 in the second, but Springfield responded with a 10-3 push, capped off by a McGayhey kill, to take a 13-9 lead.  After Bowdoin answered with three-straight points, Springfield poured on a 6-1 spurt highlighted by a pair of Helgesen kills to seize control at 19-13.  Holt put away Springfield's 16th kill of the frame to take a 25-19 win.

In the third and final set, Springfield stormed out to an 11-3 lead and never looked back as it eased its way to a 25-16 win .  Hurwitz and Brogan each produced four kills as the Pride limited the Polar Bears to a .000 hitting percentage.

Springfield 3, Bates 0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-19)

Springfield's offense was tremendous in their second victory of the day as it hit at a .410 clip, totaling 50 kills in just three sets.  Holt controlled the middle with a match-high 12 kills and hitting .688, while McGayhey totaled 11 kills on a .556 hitting percentage.  Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) led the squad with 13 digs to go along with nine kills.  Mawdsley handed out 23 assists, and Giannattasio added 15 as the duo guided Springfield to its second-highest hitting percentage of the year.

The Pride hit at an even .500 clip in the opening set against the Bobcats, with Holt delivering five kills. After being knotted at seven apiece, the Pride used a McGayhey kill, a Mawdsley ace, and a pair of Hayley Kmetz (Ardsley, N.Y.) kills to jump start an 18-4 surge as it cruised to a 25-11 win. 

Springfield registered 19 kills in the second set, including five from Helgesen, as it used another late run to seal the set.  Tied at 16-all, two kills from Kmetz sandwiched around a McGayhey kill fueled a 9-4 run to close out the 25-20 win.

In the third, the Pride grabbed control of things early, jumping out to a 13-3 lead over the Bobcats. Hitting .306 behind four kills from Brogan and Hurwitz, Springfield let the Bates get no closer than five, getting a monster block from Holt and Helgesen to complete the three-game sweep.