Huntingdon, Pa. - November 21, 2024 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team had its season come to a close it was upended by Virginia Wesleyan in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on the campus of Juniata College.  The Marlins prevailed by the scores of 22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11.

Springfield, which was making its second-straight appearance in the national tournament and seventh in the last 10 years, fell to 22-8 with the setback.

Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) concluded her remarkable collegiate career with a match-high 18 kills, while Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) contributed 12 kills, nine digs, and three aces as she wrapped up a standout four years with the Pride.  Olivia Nealy (Athens, Ga.) was credited with a match-best 18 digs and Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) notched 13 kills and three blocks. 

Springfield used a 6-0 scoring run midway through the first set to take a 16-11 lead as Jodi Saelua (Mililani, Hawaii) and Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) each put away a pair of kills.  After the Marlins pulled within 21-20, Donahue teammed with Voltz for a block and then buried a kill in transition to help the Pride earn the 25-22 win.

In the second set, Springfield took control early with a 7-0 burst capped off by back-to-back kills by Voltz to give the Pride an 11-7 edge. However, after facing a 16-12 deficit, the Marlins poured on an 11-1 scoring surge as it rallied for a 25-20 win. 

Virginia Wesleyan carried the momentum into the third, scoring the first six points.  Springfield would settle in and put together a 7-1 run as Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) put away a kill to give the Pride a 15-13 advantage. The Marlins would answer right back with a 7-2 scoring spree and would hold on for a 25-23 win. 

Voltz delivered a stuff block to make it 6-2 in favor of the Pride early in the fourth before Billet would go on a key serving run which featured a trio of aces as Springfield's cushion ballooned to 14-6.  Springfield would force a fifth set with Saelua buried a kill in the middle for the 25-17 win. 

Billet and Voltz would team up for a block following the switch to give Springfield a 9-7 lead, but the Marlins used a 4-1 burst to gain an 11-10 edge of their own.  Voltz would score in the middle to even it up at 11, but Virginia Wesleyan scored the final four points of the match to complete the victory. 

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