Cambridge, Mass. - September 12, 2015 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team defeated Cabrini in four sets before sweeping Brandeis as it captured the 2015 MIT Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride was the only team in the 12-team field to pick up four wins over the weekend as it improved to 8-1 on the season.  This marks the third time in five years that the Pride won the Invitational, as it dropped only one set during the program's 19th appearance at the tournament.

Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) was named the MVP of the weekend, while teammate Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.) was chosen to the All-Tournament Team.

Springfield will open up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday evening when it hosts Coast Guard at 7 pm.

Springfield 3, Cabrini 1 (25-21, 25-18, 26-28, 25-19)

Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) was dominant on the right side, tallying 14 kills at a .524 clip to power the Springfield offense to a four-set victory.  Helgesen added 11 kills, while Holt had an impressive showing in the middle, delivering 10 kills, hitting .444, to go along with a season-best seven blocks.

Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) and Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) combined to hand out 51 assists and Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif.) led the Pride with 15 digs. 

Springfield hit .266 in the match, bolstered by a 15-kill fourth set in which the Pride totaled a .458 hitting percentage.

Springfield 3, Brandeis 0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-21)

Holt continued her incredible play in the middle, registering nine kills and eight blocks, including four solo stuffs, as the Pride eased past the Judges.  Helgesen recorded eight kills,  Lozano racked up 12 digs, while Kerry Purcell (Massapequa, N.Y.) totaled 10 digs. 

The duo of Giannattasio and Mawdsley totaled 27 assists in helping the Pride to a .295 hitting percentage, and Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Elise Brogan (Andover, Mass.) each had solid showings with eight digs and five kills, and four kills and three blocks, respectively.  15 different players played for the Pride in the match.