Boston, Mass. - February 24, 2016 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team earned a three-set victory over Wentworth on Wednesday evening by the set scores of 25-17, 25-17, 25-21.

Ranked as the top team in Division III for the sixth-straight week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coaches Poll, Springfield improves to 17-1 on the season, 14-0 against Division III teams. 

Luis Vega (Corozal, Puerto Rico) continued his outstanding play as he produced 16 kills on 23 errorless attempts for an incredible .696 hitting percentage.  Trevor Mattson (Redlands, Calif.) added eight kills, and Julian Welsh-White (Collingswood, N.J.) produced five kills, hitting .714, to go along with three aces, and two blocks.  Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) handed out 33 assists as he led the Pride to a .377 hitting percentage.

Trailing 9-8 in the first, Springfield rattled off six-straight points, with Welsh-White delivering an ace to give the visiting Pride a 14-9 cushion.  After the hosts got within 15-11, the Pride put together another 3-0 burst, this time capped off by a Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico) ace to push Springfield's lead to 18-11.  The Pride went on to lead by as much as nine before a Wentworth service error gave Springfield the 25-17 win.  The Pride's offense registered a .562 hitting percentage, with Vega totaling a team-best four kills.

Behind the strong serving of Tucker Evans (Midlothian, Va.), the Pride surged out to a 5-0 lead to begin the second set.  Springfield's lead ballooned to 18-7 on another kill from Vega, and would later take the set, 25-17, after Vega crushed his sixth kill of the set.  Springfield hit at a .407 clip and held the hosts to a .125 clip in the frame.

In the third, Springfield faced a 12-8 deficit after its fifth attack error of the game.  However, the Pride put together a 7-0 run, highlighted by a block and two kills from Kyle Jasuta (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) to regain a 15-12 cushion.  The Leopards would get within 19-18, only to have back-to-back kills by Vega swing the momentum back to Springfield and force Wentworth into a timeout.  Welsh-White connected out of the middle and gave Springfield match point at 24-21 and followed with his third ace of the match to complete the sweep.  

Springfield will host a tri-match on Saturday afternoon against Vassar at 2 pm and Lasell at 6 pm.