Springfield, Mass. - February 8, 2020 - For the fifth-consecutive season, the Springfield College men's volleyball team won the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Saturday night in four sets over Stevenson in Blake Arena.  The Pride won by the scores of 21-25, 25-18, 28-26, 25-19.

The Pride, who was ranked No. 2 in the country in the latest AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, improved to 9-1 on the season  Appearing in its ninth-consecutive Morgan Classic Championship match, this marks the sixth time in the 33-year history of the tournament that Springfield has been crowned the champion.  Stevenson, who was ranked No. 12 in the country this week, dropped to 8-4.

Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.) put together the best match of his career as he erupted for a career-best 27 kills, hitting .524, en route to garnering MVP honors.  Chris Parker (East Northport, N.Y) added a career-best 12 kills on an .846 hitting percentage to go along with four blocks and Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) added eight kills, two aces, and two blocks as each earned all-tournament team honors.  Matt Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) led Springfield to a .339 hitting percentage as he delivered a career-high 48 assists, and Johjan Mussa Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) led the defensive effort with nine digs. 

For Stevenson, both Logan Smiley and Nate Reynolds were named to the all-tournament team as Smiley put away 14 kills and totaled 10 digs, while Reynolds had six blocks and five kills.  Peyton Ranck was credited with 36 assists in helping the Mustangs hit .290, and Kyle Bosko contribued 11 kills in the middle.

After a back-and-forth start to the match, Stevenson earned some distance as a kill from Bosko and block by Reynolds and Aleks Melbardis forced the hosts into a timeout trailing 14-12.  The Mustangs would never surrender the lead the rest of the frame,and took the 25-21 win after Reynolds converted out of the middle for the visitors 13th kills of the set. 

Parker bounced an overpass to give Springfield a 5-2 edge in the second before an ace by Astin Sesoko (Corona, Calif.) allowed the Pride's lead to grow to 12-7.  The lead would grow to nine at 21-12 when Brandow blistered a ball down the line in transition and Anderson sealed the 25-18 win with Springfield's fourth ace of the night.  

Stevenson nearly led the third set from wire-to-wire, and earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Tanner Stauffer.  However, a service error on the next point allowed Anderson to go back to the service line, and the first-year led the team to four-straight points, including an ace to tie things up at 24-all.  Brandow would later hammer back-to-back kills to to complete the comeback and the 28-26 win to give Springfield a 2-1 lead in the match.

Brandow set the tone in the fourth, putting away consecutive kills out of the back rom to fuel a 6-2 run to open the stanza.  After the Mustangs pulled within 11-9, Springfield responded with an 8-4 push to gain a six-point edge. Brandow put on an offensive show in the fourth set, totaling 10 kills at a .642 clip, and wrapped up the evening with his career-best 27th kill in the 25-19 win.

Springfield will now focus on another clash with a nationally-ranked opponent as they travel on Wednesday to face No. 5 Vassar, who earlier this week knocked off top-ranked New Paltz.

 New Paltz 3, Rivier 1

In the consolation match of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic, New Paltz prevailed over Rivier by the set scores of 20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-23.  Matt Grace handed out 42 assists in leading New Paltz to a .376 hitting percentage as he garned all-tournament team honors   Aaron Carrk produced 20 kills, Brendan Spulnick chipped in 15 kills and four aces, and Grace led all players with nine digs. 

For Rivier, David Smith posted a team-best 12 kills, and Francis Kokoros produced four blocks and two aces to go along with nine kills which came at a .438 hitting percentage.  Pedro Campos was credited with 27 assists in the setback as the Raiders were limited to a .186 hitting percentage. 

All-Classic Team
Rivier- Francis Kokoros
New Paltz - Matt Grace
Stevenson - Logan Smiley
Stevenson - Nate Reynolds
Springfield - Chris Parker
Springfield - Jarrett Anderson
Springfield - Brennen Brandow - MVP