Springfield, Mass. - February 7, 2020 - In a rematch of last year's NCAA Division III Championship Semifinal, the Springfield College men's volleyball team rallied past New Paltz in five sets in the opening match of the 2020 International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic in Blake Arena.  The Pride won by the set scores of 25-23, 25-27, 19-25, 25-15, 15-10.

Tonight's match pitted the nation's top-two ranked teams as the second-ranked Pride improved to 8-1, while the top-ranked Hawks dropped their second-straight match to slip to 6-2. This marks nine straight years that the Pride has advanced to the Morgan Classic Championship, which is in its 33rd year of existence is regarded as the most historic event for collegiate men's volleyball on the East Coast.

First-year Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) was sensational for the Pride, pounding out a match-high 21 kills to go along with seven digs and three aces, while Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.) contributed 13 kills and four blocks.  Matt Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) turned in 38 assists and 13 digs and Astin Sesoko (Corona, Calif.) ripped four of Springfield's 13 aces.

New Paltz was limited to a .139 hitting percentage as Aaron Carrk put away 15 kills.  Both Nick O'Malley and Brendan Spulnick contributed 11 kills and Matt Grace was credited with 39 assists.  Robert Nolan had 10 digs and Riley Dolan registered three aces. 

The Pride's offense was slow to find its rhythm as O'Mally put away back-to-back kills before Carrk followed with a solo block to give the visitors an 11-17 lead.  The Hawks would maintain a 19-13 cushion after a Springfield service error, but the Pride would answer with a 5-1 burst, getting consecutive aces from Chris Parker (East Northport, N.Y.) to force New Paltz into a timeout.  Springfield would take its first lead of the set at 23-22 on a kill by Anderson in transition and later complete the comeback on an ace by Sesoko.  The hosts had five aces in the set and hit .333 in the win.

In the second, the teams were tied 12 times.  After New Paltz opened up a 15-12 lead when O'Malley's serve found the back line, Springfield use a 6-3 push to even things up at 18-all as the Hawks whistled for a timeout.  Despite fighting off a pair of set points, Springfield would commit a service error and Dolan would rip an ace down the line to knot the match up at a set apiece following a 27-25 win.  The Hawks were able to pull off the win despite hitting .115 in the set.

Springfield's offense never got going in the third, as the Hawks surged out to a 17-9 lead and never looked back.  Springfield was limited to just four kills at a -.211 hitting percentage in a 25-19 setback, a frame in which Carrk buried six kills on eight errorless attempts.

In the fourth, Sesoko blistered an ace for the 11-7 cushion and Brandow brought the crowd to its feet with an incredible kill down the line in transition to push the advantage to 18-11.  In holding New Paltz to a -.061 hitting percentage, Springfield would coast to the 25-15 win and force a fifth set after back-to-back hitting errors by the visitors.

Sesoko set the tone to begin the fifth as he registered a pair of aces to give Springfield an early 4-0 lead.  Liam York (Kailua, Hawaii) would later rip a kill off the block to make it an 8-2 game at the switch, but a 5-2 burst for New Paltz which was capped off by a kill from Carrk made it a 10-7 contest.  Anderson then took over, sandwiching a pair of kills around a double block with Stiven Topalli (Pogradec, Albania) which ballooned the Pride's lead to 13-7.  Anderson would deliver another kill from set point, and two points later, craft a kill off the New Paltz block for the 15-10 win.  The first-year totaled six of the Pride's nine kills in the frame.

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Stevenson 3, Rivier 1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-21, 26-24)

In the second matchup of the evening, the 12th-ranked Stevenson University men's volleyball program bested No. 6 Rivier in four sets of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic in Springfield College's Blake Arena.  The win boosted Stevenson's record to 8-3 on the year and they'll play Springfield College for the championship at 8 pm on Saturday.  Rivier slips to 4-1 and will take on New Paltz at 6 pm.

For Stevenson, Logan Smiley erupted for 21 kills to lead an offense that hit .239 on the night.  Peyton Ranck and Aleks Melbardis combined for 39 assists, both Nate Reynolds and Melbardis totaled five blocks, and Derek Tangorra collected eight digs.

Rivier was led by David Smith's 16 kills, while Sokunbuth Ly notched 11 kills and Kristjan Cortez chipped in 10.  Pedro Campos recorded 48 assists in lead his team to a .241 hitting percentage, and Smith also anchored the defense with eight digs and four blocks. 

Knotted at 10-all in the first, Rivier used a 6-1 run that was capped off by a kill from Smith to open up a 16-11 edge.  Stevenson, which hit .074 in the frame, would get no closer than four points, and Ly put away the Raiders 13th kill of the night for the 25-18 win. 

Rivier seemed poised to take a 2-0 lead in the match as they held a 20-16 lead following a kill by Campos which forced the Mustangs into a timeout.  Out of the break, Stevenson scored five-straight points, highlighted by three-straight kills by Smiley, to kickstart the set-ending 9-2 run in the 25-22 win.

Stevenson carried the momentum into the third as they broke open the 10-all tie with a 6-2 run of their own to gain a 16-12 lead after Tanner Stauffer buried a kill.  Despite scoring three-straight points to get within 16-15, Rivier could not regain the lead as Stevenson was able to pull out a 25-21 win despite hitting .091.

Rivier again seemed in control of the fourth, leading 22-20 after a kill by Cortez.  However, Smiley came up with several key kills down the stretch and Kyle Bosco delivered a pair of blocks as part of a 6-2 surge which allowed the Mustangs to rally for the 26-24 win.  Smiley was remarkable, ripping eight of his team's 16 kills in a frame where they hit .444 as a squad.