Springfield, Mass. - April 2, 2016 - In a match that pitted the top two-ranked Division III men's volleyball teams in the country, the Springfield College men's volleyball team was defeated by New Paltz in five sets on Saturday night in Blake Arena.  The Hawks prevailed by the scores of 25-23, 17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11.

Springfield dropped to 24-3 on the year, with its only two Division III setbacks of the season coming to New Paltz.  The Hawks have now rattled off 27-straight wins, including 24 against Division III opponents, to improve to 28-2.  These two teams previously met as the top-two ranked squads in the country on March 9 when the Hawks prevailed in straight sets on their home court. 

Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) led Springfield to a .307 hitting percentage as he handed out 52 assists.  Luis Vega (Corozal, Puerto Rico) stuffed the stat sheet with 17 kills, 12 digs, and seven blocks, while Greg Woods (Middletown, Conn.) notched 17 kills at a .367 clip. Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added 13 kills and 10 digs, Julian Welsh-White (Collingswood, N.J.) tallied six blocks, and Eli Irizarry Pares (San Juan, Puerto Rico) picked up 10 digs.  

New Paltz's Jake Roessler racked up a team-best 14 kills, while Christopher Husmann totaled 10 kills, four blocks, and three aces.  Christian Smith handed out 49 assists to lead a New Paltz offense that hit .239 on the night. The Hawks had an 8-2 edge in aces in the contest, while the Pride had 50 digs to the visitors 30.

Springfield earned an early 3-1 lead to start the match after Vega hammered a ball down the line in transition, only to have the Hawks battle back to earn an 8-6 lead on an Andy Fishman ace.  Back-to-back kills from Woods evened things at 12 for the Pride, but the visitors responded with three-straight points, using an overpass kill from Anthony Bonilla to force the Pride into a timeout down 16-14.  New Paltz pushed their lead to 20-17 on a kill by Smith, and despite Springfield getting as close a one on four occassions, Roessler tooled the block in transition to give the Hawks a 25-23 win.

The Pride snagged a 5-1 cushion to begin the second after Vega ripped an ace to force the visitors into a timeout.  Springfield continued to control the frame as their lead ballooned to 12-3 following a thunderous backrow kill by Vega.  A kill from Padilla Ayala in transition gave the Pride a 20-12 cushion, but a 4-0 New Paltz burst, capped off by a solo block by Steven Woessner, made Springfield head coach Charlie Sullivan burn a timeout.  Springfield seized momentum back with four-straight points, getting a big block from Kyle Jasuta (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Vega to earn set point.  Vega wrapped up the 25-17 victory with his fourth kill of the frame.

A kill from Garcia Rubio put the Pride ahead 4-2 in the third, but the teams would trade points and find themselves tied six times until a kill from Vega off the block and New Paltz attack error gave the Pride a two-point cushion at 11-9.  The visitors put together a 4-1 burst to retake a 15-13 lead on a Woessner ace, but the squads would once again go back and forth, knotting the score six more times.  A solo block from Roessler kickstarted a three-point push by New Paltz to give them a 23-20 lead that they would carry into a 25-22 third set win. 

Neither team found an offensive rhythm in the early stages of the fourth as the teams traded points back and forth.  Out of a Springfield timeout, the hosts put together a 4-0 spurt, featuring a pair of monster kills from Padilla Ayala to give the hosts a 9-6 lead.  The Hawks used a swing from Roessler in transition to climb within 12-11, only to have Vega and Welsh-White combine for back-to-back blocks to put the Pride ahead, 15-11.  New Paltz battled back to 18-16, but Woods halted the rally when he converted out of the back row to sideout at 19-16.  Springfield earned set point at 24-21 after Vega elevated for the kill and a New Paltz service error would force the fifth set.

The visitors won the first six points of the fifth set to seize the early momentum.  However, Springfield would not go away quietly, and put together a 5-0 burst thanks to three-straight New Paltz attack errors to climb within 7-6.  Springfield would get within 9-8 on a Hawk service error, but a 5-2 New Paltz run, highlighted by a pair of cross court kills by Joe Norman, gave the visitors match point.  Norman delivered the visitors ninth kill of the set to give them a 15-11 fifth-set win.

Springfield will play its final Division III match of the regular season on Tuesday when it plays hosts to MIT at 6 pm.