New York, N.Y. - March 4, 2016 - The Springfield College men's volleyball breezed to a three-set victory over Baruch College on Friday evening by the set scores of 25-15, 25-16, 25-21 in the ARC Arena. 

With the victory, Springfield won its 20th-straight match to improve to 21-1 on the year.  The Pride, which was ranked the top team in the nation according to this week's AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, is 18-0 against Division III competition this year.

Led by 30 assists from Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico), the Pride hit at a .491 clip in the game, the highest such total that Baruch has allowed this season.  Luis Vega (Corozal, Puerto Rico) tallied 10 kills, hitting .692, to go along with five blocks, and two aces, while Trevor Mattson (Redlands, Calif.) added 10 kills of his own.  Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico) chipped in three aces and six kills on seven errorless swings and Julian Welsh-White (Collingswood, N.J.) registered a match-best six blocks.

Springfield began the match with a 5-1 run, highlighted by a pair of early kills from Mattson.  The Pride's offense, which posted 15 kills at a .522 clip in the frame, carried the visitors to a 25-15 win, as Welsh-White led the defensive effort with four blocks.   

After Baruch pulled themselves within 9-8 in the second, Springfield put together an 8-2 burst, capped off by a block by Welsh-White and Vega to push the Pride's lead to 17-10.  Springfield would go on to lead by as much as 10, and a kill by Kyle Jasuta (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) clinched the set at 25-16.  Vega was tremendous as he notched four kills and three blocks in the set, helping hold Baruch to a -.167 hitting percentage. 

Mattson put a ball away to give the Pride a 16-11 cushion in the third, only to have three-straight Springfield miscues make it at 16-14 game and force head coach Charlie Sullivan to call a timeout.  Out of the break, the teams traded points until Baruch committed three-consecutive attack errors to provide the Pride with a 20-15 cushion.  The Pride used a balanced attack of four players with two kills, leading to .500 clip in the set, and held on for the 25-21 win.

Up next for Springfield will be a clash of the top two ranked teams in the nation, as the Pride will travel to face No. 2 New Paltz on Wednesday, March 9 for an 6 pm contest.