Springfield, Mass. - February 1, 2022 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team made their return to Blake Arena on Tuesday evening and cruised to a three-set victory over Elms College by the scores of 25-15, 25-15, 25-17. 

Tuesday night's match marked the first time that the Pride had played in front of its home fans in 700 days, dating back to March 3, 2020. Springfield, which was ranked No. 1 in the the most recent NVA/AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, improved to 5-0 on the season, while Elms dipped to 3-2. 

Matt Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) directed Springfield's offense to a .478 hitting percentage, bolstered by two sets where the hosts hit above .600, as he handed out 30 assists to go along with six digs, two aces, and two blocks.  Both Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) and Nate Reynolds (Baltimore, Md.) tallied nine kills, with Reynolds tallying a match-best three blocks.  Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.) ripped three of the Pride's 13 aces and Johjan Mussa Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) led all players with 12 digs as Springfield limited Elms to a .081 hitting percentage.

Knotted at six in the first set, Springfield put together a 4-0 burst thanks to a kill and two aces from Chris Parker (East Northport, N.Y.).  The Blazers would get no closer than three points, and the Pride used a 5-1 burst to seal the 25-15 win as it totaled 16 kills at a .682 clip in the frame, led by five off the arm of Anderson. 

Springfield held a comfortable 14-7 lead midway through the second following a kill by Anderson, however the hosts would commit six errors to let Elms back into the frame at 16-13.  Reynolds would then side out with a kill as the Pride rattled off a 6-0 run, capped off by a huge block from Brandow and Parker, to make it 22-13.  Elms would commit their eighth attack error of the frame to give the Pride a 25-15 win as the visitors were held to a -.185 hitting percentage. 

Even at 7-7 in the third, Springfield poured on an 11-5 surge, with Ryan Roller (West Hartford, Conn.) delivering an ace out of an Elms timeout to push the advantage to 18-12.  The Pride's offense was dominant in the set, totaling 15 kills on 20 errorless attempts for a .750 hitting percentage and Stiven Topalli (Pogradec, Albania) blistered Springfield's 13th ace of the night to complete the 25-17 win. 

This weekend, Springfield will serve as the host for the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic, beginning on Friday night at 6 pm it a clash with third-ranked Vassar. 

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