Springfield, Mass. – November 4, 2023 – With the regular-season title and top seed in the upcoming conference tournament on the line, the Springfield College women's volleyball team battled its way to a 3-2 win over Babson in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday.  Springfield prevailed by the scores of 22-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 15-11. 

Springfield, which was still receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/TARAFLEX Division III national poll this week, closed out the regular season with a 24-3 mark and locked up the top seed in the conference tournament.  For the Pride, it marked the third time in program history that it completed the NEWMAC regular season with an unblemished record, and first since the 2008 campaign.

The story of the match was Emily Keaveney (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), as the sophomore was sensational with a career-high 17 kills to lead the Pride's offensive efforts.  Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) turned in 48 assists,  Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) stuffed her stat sheet with 10 digs, nine kills, and three aces, and the duo of Olivia Nealy (Athens, Ga.) and Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) combined for 50 digs, highlighted by Townsend's season-best 30 digs. The middle blocker duo of Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Olivia Gentry (Cincinnatti, Ohio) were particulary effective, combining for 15 kills and nine blocks. 

Keaveney put away back-to-back kills in transition to give Springfield a quick 5-2 lead in the first, only to have Babson rattle off a 10-3 push to force the Pride into a timeout.  The visitors lead would grow to 19-15, but the Pride would answer back with a 4-1 push, as consecutive attack errors by Babson made it a one-point contest.  Out of a timeout, the Beavers scored the next two points to pull away with a 25-22 win in a set were neither team hit above .100.

Tied up at 11 in the second, Springfield broke open the frame with a 6-1 surge, as consecutive aces from Colosimo out of a Babson timeout put the hosts ahead, 17-12.  Gentry would knot up the match at a set apiece when she put away an overpass to seal the 25-18 victory, a frame in which Keaveney would account for seven of the Pride's 15 kills.

In the third, the teams would be tied 12 times and the lead would change on six occasions.  Babson would take an early 8-4 advantage and maintain its four-point edge 22-18, but Springfield would rally to tie up the set at 23-23 when Morgan Stafford (Corbertt, Ore.) registered two-straight aces.  Babson would regroup however, getting a timely block and ace for the 26-24 triumph. 

Facing a 12-10 deficit midway through the fourth, Billet was a huge spark as she buried a three kills to fuel an 8-1 burst to put the Pride in command.  Springfeild would lead by as many as eight points on a Keaveney kill at 23-15 before a Babson service error forced the match into a decisive fifth set. 

It was an incredible start to the fifth set as Springfield raced out to a 7-2 lead when Voltz and Keaveney combined for a huge stuff block in the middle to force Babson into a timeout.  The Beavers would not go away though, using an 8-3 push of its own to tie the set at 10.  The teams would trade a point before Billet tagged a ball down the line and teamed up with Voltz for a block to bring the Springfield faithful to its feet as Babson whistled for another timeout.  Out of the break, Springfield would force Babson into a hitting error and Billet blistered her fourth kill of the set to wrap up the 15-11 victory. 

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