Huntingdon, Pa. – November 17 – The Springfield College women's volleyball team saw its 2023 campaign come to a close as the Pride fell to No. 22 nationally-ranked University of Mary Washington, 3-1, by set scores of 28-26, 27-29, 6-25, 15-25 this evening in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on the campus of Juniata College.

Springfield, which is receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/TARAFLEX Division III national poll this week, closed the season with a 27-5 record, the most wins for the program since 2016, while Mary Washington improved to 30-4 and will play in the winner of No. 1 Juniata College/Stevens Institute of Technology in the regional final tomorrow at 7:00 pm. Today marked the eighth regional semifinal appearance for the Pride since 2011 under the direction of head coach Moira Long.

The Pride were guided by junior Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.), who tallied 21 kills and ten digs, while sophomore Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) posted 13 kills at a clip of .375 and junior Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) notched ten kills and ten digs in the effort. First-year Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) dished out 41 assists and registered 16 digs and graduate student Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) recorded 18 digs and two assists.

With her 18 digs today against Mary Washington, Townsend became the first student-athlete for the Pride to eclipse 500 digs in a season since Heidi Yohe tallied 508 during the 2008 season.

The opening set featured a tie score on nine different occasions and Springfield fended off two set points in the stanza for an early 1-0 lead in the match following back-to-back kills from Donahue. The junior outside hit for ten kills on 18 swings at a .444 clip for the early advantage for the Pride. The Eagles used a 5-0 run early on for a 12-8 edge before Springfield answered with an 8-4 run of its own to even the match up at 16-16 following a swing by Donahue. Late in the set, three straight kills from Voltz gave Springfield set point, but it was ultimately the two swing by Donahue which sealed the 28-26 set one win for the Pride.

Springfield trailed 4-3 in set two before a 9-1 run that featured five kills from Donahue, a kill from Voltz, an ace from Colosimo and a block by Olivia Gentry (Cincinnati, Ohio). The Pride led 20-14 following an Eagles service error, but they quickly responded with six straight points to even the score at 20-20. Extra points were needed once again and Springfield had set point at both 25-24 and 27-26, but it was Mary Washington, which evened the match at 1-1 following a kill, block and a Springfield error.

Mary Washington was in full control of the third set and scored the first seven points of the stanza. The Eagles went on to win the third by a 25-6 final as Mary Washington hit at a .533 clip with eight kills on 15 swings to secure the win and to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

A kill from Donahue gave Springfield the first point in set four, but Mary Washington took a 9-4 lead and never looked back. The Pride cut their deficit to as few as four points at 15-11, however, the Eagles ended the match on a 10-4 run that featured kills from three different student-athletes.

Today's match between Springfield and Mary Washington was the first since October 14, 2012 at the Salisbury University Invitational.

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.