Springfield, Mass. - February 1, 2022 - In a clash of two of the top-ranked programs in the nation, the Springfield College men's volleyball team prevailed in five sets over Vassar College in the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Friday night.  The Pride won by the scores of 25-15, 22-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-6.

The top-ranked Pride improved to 6-0 on the season, while the third-ranked Brewers dipped to 3-1.  This marks 10-straight years that the Pride has advanced to the Morgan Classic Championship, which is in its 34th year of existence is regarded as the most historic event for collegiate men's volleyball on the East Coast.  The Pride will square off against Endicott for the title at 8 pm on Saturday. 

 Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) was dominant on the right side, totaling 15 kills at a .433 clip, to go along with five aces, five digs, and two aces, while the outside duo of Liam York (Kailua, Hawaii) and Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.) each produced 12 kills.  Nate Reynolds (Baltimore, Md.) turned in six blocks and five kills on seven errorless attempts and Johjan Mussa Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) led all players with 17 digs. Matt Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) led the Pride's offense to a .353 hitting percentage behind 45 assists to go along with 10 digs. 

For Vassar, Andrew Kim tallied a team-best 12 kills, Matt Usi notched 11 digs, and Jacob Kim handed out 34 helpers.  Both Adam Gulick and Colin Jones chipped in nine kills for a Brewers offense that hit .126 on the night. 

In the opening set, Vassar called for an early timeout trailing 12-8 following an attack error, but the Pride would continue to push ahead, earning an 18-12 lead following a kill from Anderson.  Coming out of Vassar's second timeout of the frame, Anderson blistered back-to-back aces to give the hosts a 25-15 win as the visitors were held to just a .043 hitting percentage. 

A kill from Brandow allowed the Pride to take an early 3-0 lead, but Vassar would settle into an offensive groove and earn a 15-13 lead as Springfield burned its first timeout of the set.  In a stanza that featured 12 ties, Anderson bounced a ball in system to knot things up at 18 before consecutive Springfield miscues gave the Brewers the lead for good.  Jacob Kim put away an overpass on set point to take the 25-22 win.

After Springfield jumped ahead 5-2 in the fourth, Vassar rattled off six-straight points to force Springfield into a timeout.  The lead would grow to 18-13, only to have Springfield claw back within 24-22 on a huge block from Reynolds and Lilley.  However, Vassar called a timeout and then got a cross-court kill from Gulick to take another 25-22 win. 

A balanced Springfield attack that totaled 15 kills at a .355 clip in the fourth all the Pride to snap a 13-all tie with a 4-0 burst.  Vassar would get no closer than two points before York went over the top of the block for set point and Anderson came up with the only ace of the set to force a fifth set following the 25-18 win. 

Despite Vassar winning the first two points of the fifth, Springfield poured on a 9-1 run, as consecutive blocks from Reynolds and Lilley set up an overpass kill from Reynolds to fuel the run.  Vassar hit .-462 in the set as it committed eight attack errors, while the Pride played clean volleyball, producing six kills on nine errorless attempts.  Reynolds contributed three blocks in the set as the Pride cruised to the 15-6 triumph.

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