Springfield, Mass. – February 17, 2024 – The Springfield College men's volleyball team swept Rivier and powered past St. Joseph's in a tri-match in Blake Arena on Saturday.
 
Entering the match ranked fourth in the most recent AVCA/NVA Division III National Poll, Springfield is now 12-1 this year.

On Wednesday, Springfield will travel to face Lasell in a 7 pm in-state clash.
 
Springfield 3, Rivier 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-13)

Springfield hit at a .367 clip in the sweep of Rivier as Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) handed out 29 assists to go along with four digs, three kills, two blocks, and two aces.  Ethan Walters (St. Louis, Mo.) led all players with 14 kills, Evan Costley (Simi Valley, Calif.) added eight kills, and Sam Levinson (La Grange, Ill.) connected for seven kills.  The Pride held the Raiders to a .150 team hitting percentage as Cole Kallick (Redondo Beach, Calif.) turned in a match-best four blocks.

The opening set featured seven ties and two lead changes as the pride hit .312 with a match-high 16 kills in the first. Walters powered the Pride to a 25-21 win with seven kills. Springfield trailed 12-9 midway through the stanza before the Pride ripped off seven straight points for a 16-12 advantage following a kill and a block by Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.), an ace from Levinson, back-to-back swings from Walters and two errors by Rivier forcing the Raiders to burn a timeout. Rivier got as close as one point at 18-17 late in the set, but Springfield pulled away with a brief 4-1 spurt and capped the 25-21 win on swings from Levinson and Walters.

Springfield hit a match-best .417 in the second as Levinson powered the Pride's offense with four kills in the stanza. Neither team gained a multi-point edge until the Pride scored three straight points to go from down 14-13 to ahead 16-14 on a Rivier error, an ace from Rouleau and an assisted block by Mulvaney and Kallick. Up 23-22 late, a swing by Costley and another assisted block from Mulvaney and Kallick secured the set 25-22 and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Walters once again led Springfield in kills in the third as he tallied four on nine swings. The Pride raced out to a 9-3 advantage and never looked back en route to a dominant 25-13 set three win and the three-set sweep. The opening spurt featured kills from Walters, Mulvaney, Rouleau and Costley. Rivier climbed back as close as six at 16-10, but Springfield ended the third by scoring seven of the set's final eight points. Two aces by Walter and kills from both Carter Durivage (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and James Browning (Santa Monica, Calif.) accentuated the match-ending run.

Springfield 3, St. Joseph's 0 (25-15, 25-19, 24-26, 25-11, 15-8)
Springfield held a 63-39 advantage in kills and combined for only three attack errors in the three sets it won as prevailed in five sets against St. Joseph's.  Mulvaney dished out 54 assists and Levinson and Rouleau each accounted for 14 kills.  Walters added 12 kills and Costley tacked on nine kills, while Ricardo Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico ) accounted for a match-best nine digs. 

The Pride totaled 17 kills at a .667 clip in the opening set, including five from Levinson.  Mulvaney and Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) combined for a block on the pin to cap off a 7-1 push as Springfield took an 11-6 lead and forced the visitors into a timeout.  Another block from Walters and Rouleau would help the lead grow to 18-11, and Costley ripped a hard-angle shot on set point for the 25-15 victory.

Springfield's offense was sensational in the second set, erupting for 21 kills on 27 attempts for a .741 hitting percentage.   With the score even at 8-8, the Pride rattled off the next three points, as Levinson blistered a ball down the line in transition.  Rouleau was dominant in the frame, connecting for kills on all seven of his attempts, highlighted by a transition kill at 16-10 off an incredible look from Mulvaney.  Walters would later give Springfield the 2-0 lead as he connected on his fourth kill of the set.

After committing just two attack errors in the first two sets combined, Springfield had five errors in the first 12 points of the third set.  Despite registering 11 attack errors in the stanza, Springfield led 20-19 as the visitors called for a timeout.  However, St. Joseph's was able to snap a 24-all tie, taking advantage of a service error and putting away their 11th kill of the frame to take the 26-24 win.

In the fourth, St. Joseph's raced out to a 9-2 lead and never looked back as it coasted to a 25-11 win in a stanza where the Pride hit -.174.

Cutter set the tone to begin the fifth as he hammered a ball in system to start the set before consecutive aces from Giancarlo Carrion (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) put the Pride in control at 6-2.  Mulvaney was able to manufacture a kill of his own at 11-6 and Costley connected for an ace to give Springfield match point at 14-7. Cutter then closed the door and gave the Pride the five set win after registering a kill in the middle, completing a stanza where the Pride totaled seven kills on a .667 hitting percentage.  

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