Kenosha, Wisc. - April 22, 2022 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team earned a straight-set victory over Stevens in the NCAA Division III Championship Semifinals in Tarble Arena on the campus of Carthage College on Friday afternoon.  Set scores were 25-19, 25-22, 25-13.

Making its ninth appearance in a NCAA Division III Championship Semifinals, Springfield improves to 29-1 and will play for a national championship on Saturday.  Stevens, who had won 19 matches in a row heading into the contest, had its year come to a close with a 30-4 record. 

Matt Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) led a balanced Springfield offense as the Pride hit .380 in the victory.  The trio of Brennen Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.), Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.), and Liam York (Kailua, Hawaii) each had nine kills.  Johjan Mussa Robles (Caguas, Puerto Rico) led all players with 17 digs and Nate Reynolds (Baltimore, Md.) and Lilley contributed four blocks apiece.  Anderson had all four of the Pride's service winners to bring his season total to 82, breaking the program record for aces of 81 which had been set by Javier Placer in 1993 and 1994. 

Mussa Robles was impressive in the opening set with 11 digs in helping Springfield limit the Ducks to a .083 hitting percentage.  After trailing 5-4 early on, Springfield seized a 16-10 lead after York ripped a kill for the Pride to force Stevens into a timeout.  The Ducks would pull within 16-13 as Springfield called for a timeout of its own, only to use a 3-0 burst capped off by an ace from Anderson to push the cushion to 19-13. Chris Parker (East Northport, N.Y.) was able to convert out of the middle for his third kill of the night to seal the 25-19 triumph.

Springfield seized a 5-2 lead in the second set after Stevens committed three early attack errors as the Ducks would whistle for a timeout at 10-5 on their sixth attack error. Springfield was in control for much of the frame, but Stevens would use a late three-point surge to knot things up at 21-all coming out of a Springfield timeout.  Anderson would side out with a kill as he crafted it around the Stevens block to fuel the set-ending 4-1 burst, as Brandow registered a kill in transition for the 25-22 victory.  Both Anderson and York turned in four kills in the set to lead the Pride's offense.

In the third set, Springfield as a team hit .812 as it turned in 13 kills on 16 errorless attempts.  With a 5-4 edge, the Pride broke open the game with a 6-1 run following kills from York, Anderson, and Brandow.  Anderson would put the game away from the end line, as he ripped three aces in a four-point stretch, including his record-breaking winner at 22-11.  Reynolds later elevated to crush a ball in system on match point to conclude the 25-13 win to help the Pride punch its ticket to the national title match.  

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