Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - February 12, 2020 - In a clash of the nation's top-two ranked teams, the Springfield College men's volleyball team prevailed on the road at Vassar College on Wednesday night.  Springfield rallied late in the fifth set to take a 16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 17-15 victory.

The Pride, which moved into the top-ranked spot in this week's AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, improved to 10-1 on the season and has bested three-straight nationally-ranked opponents. Vassar, which was the nation's second-ranked team in the poll, slipped to 8-3 on the year.   

Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) was dominant in the win as he delivered 26 kills, while Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.) turned in 15 kills and Liam York (Kailua, Hawaii) ripped 11 kills at a .727 clip for the visitors.  Matt Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) led the Pride to a .312 hitting percentage with 46 assists, Johjan Mussa Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) added 10 digs and Chris Parker (East Northport, N.Y.) produced five blocks.  

The hosts got off to a great start, hitting .435 in the opening set and limiting the Pride to a .182 hitting percentage.  With the score even at 4-4, the Brewers took advantage of four Springfield miscues as part of a 6-0 burst to gain a 10-4 edge.  The Brewers would lead by as many as 10 points and held on for the 25-16 win following a Pride service error.

Springfield's offense found its rhythm in the second set, terminating 14 kills at a .476 hitting percentage.  York blasted a cross court kill in transition to make it a 15-9 score in favor of Springfield as Vassar burned a timeout, only to have the Brewers string together a 7-1 spurt to knot the set at 16-all.  The Pride responded with the next three points, with Lilley and Stiven Topalli (Pogradec, Albania) combining for a huge block on the pin to give the Pride a 19-16 cushion.  Springfield would knot the match up at a set apiece when a Vassar attack sailed long for the 25-19 win.

In the third, Springfield again hit above .400, this time putting away 13 kills at a .455 clip.  An ace by Astin Sesoko (Corona, Calif.) allowed the Pride to lead 12-9, only to have Vassar put together a late surge to snag a 22-21 advantage.  However, a Vassar service error and block from Parker and York gave the Pride the momentum back, and Brandow ripped a kill off the block for the 25-22 win.  

Anderson continued to have his way in the fourth, bouncing a hard-angle swing in transition for the 13-9 lead. The hosts responded with four-straight points and broke open a 15-all tie with three-straight points to pull away with a 25-22 win and force a fifth set. 

In the fifth, Springfield jumped out to a 4-2 lead on a transition kill from Anderson, but the hosts would put together a 6-2 run to take an 8-6 lead at the switch.  However, two Vassar miscues sandwiched an Anderson kill as the Pride went up 9-8, only to have a 5-2 surge by the Brewers give them a pair of match points at 14-12.  Anderson again came up with a huge swing to side out before a Vassar attack sailed wide to make it a 14-all contest.  Springfield fought off one more match point before Lilley found Brandow for a kill, and tough serving for Parker resulted in a Vassar error and an match-winning kill by Brandow off the block for the win. 

Next up for Springfield will be a home match against Johnson & Wales on Friday night at 7 pm.

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Springfield "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.