Boston, Mass. - October 13, 2018 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches against UMass Boston and Endicott on Saturday on the campus of UMass Boston.  With the split, Springfield improves to 19-3 on the season as a program that is once again receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Assocation (AVCA) Division III Poll.

The Pride will now turn its attention to a critical New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) showdown at Babson on Tuesday.  First serve is slated for 7 pm.

 Springfield 3, UMass Boston 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-23)

The Springfield College women's volleyball team cruised to a streaight-set victory over in-region foe UMass Boston in its first match of the day.  Jen Donnelly (Exeter, R.I.) led all players with 13 kills, which came at a .379 clip, to go along with 11 digs.  Camryn Bancroft (Eastport, N.Y.) added nine kills, Katie vonKampen (South Setauket, N.Y.) contributed five kills and three blocks, and Briana Tovar (Tucson, Ariz.) totaled 11 digs as the Pride limited the Beacons to a .108 team hitting percentage.  Sara Labadorf (Huntersville, N.C.) returned to the lineup to hand out 33 assists as the Pride hit at a .280 clip as a team.

Clinging to a 20-19 lead in the first set, Springfield closed out the frame on a 5-1 burst, with Bancroft posting a solo stuff on set point to seal the win.  The Pride hit .391 in the opening frame, led by nine combined kills from Donnelly and Bancroft. 

The Pride's defense limited the Beacons to a .071 hiting percentage in the second set as it stormed out to a 17-9 advantage following an ace by Ashley Tanner (Manorville, N.Y.).  Donnelly would led the way with four kills in the stanza, and Bancroft completed the 25-15 triumph with her sixth kill of the night.

The third set featured eight ties, the last coming at 18-all as Springfield burned its second timeout of the game.  Out of the break, a kill from Tanner and ace from Hayley Kmetz (Ardsley, N.Y.) sandwiched a UMass Boston hitting error to give the Pride a three-point cushion it would not relinquish.  The hosts got as close as 24-23, but vonKampen buried a ball in the middle for the 25-23 victory.

Endicott 3, Springfield 0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-21)

Endicott put together the best offensive showing of any Springfield opponent this season as the Gulls hit .243 as a team in the sweep.  As an offense themselves, Springfield had its lowest team hitting percentage of the year, hitting just .071 in the setback.  Kayley Cimino (Cumberland, Maine) registered six kills, both Briana Tovar (Tucson, Ariz.) and Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif.) produced 11 digs, and Bridget Walsh (Garrison, N.Y.) recorded five kills and two blocks off the bench.

After Bancroft pulled the Pride within 9-8 in the first set, the Gulls ripped off a set-changing 11-1 burst to take complete control.  Springfield would battle to within 20-14 and force Endicott into a timeout, but the Gulls offense manufactured 15 kills at a .343 rate to cruise to a 25-16 win.

In the second set, a frame that featured 15 ties, the Pride owned a 21-20 edge after a kill from Cimino.  However, Endicott pulled together a 5-1 run to rally for the 25-22 win.  The Gulls carried that momentum into the third set, racing out to a 14-5 lead before eventually completing the sweep with their 42nd kill of the match at 25-21.