Dudley, Mass. – March 2, 2024 – Playing against each other for the second time in four days, the Springfield College men's volleyball team defeated Nichols in four sets at the Nichols Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.  Springfield earned the win by the scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-19, 25-20.

Springfield, ranked fourth in the country in the most recent AVCA/NVA National Poll, is now 15-2 and the Bison fell to 16-4. 

Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) paced Springfield to a .323 hitting percentage thanks to a 55-assist performance.  Sam Levinson (La Grange, Ill.) tallied a team-best 14 kills at a .393 clip to go along with a team-high 10 digs and Evan Costley (Simi Valley, Calif.) chipped in 12 kills.  Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) delivered nine kills, eight blocks, and six digs and Joel DeCamp (Simi Valley, Calif.) also delivered nine kills in the middle. 

Trailing 9-8 in the first, Springfield used a 3-0 spurt capped off by a stuff block by Rouleau to earn a two-point edge.  In a set which featured 15 ties, the last would come at 21-all before Rouleau sidedout out and Mulvaney and DeCamp combined for a key block to give Springfield a 23-21 cushion.  A kill from Levinson would seal the 25-23 victory, capping off a set where the Pride hit .519.
 
Springfield was limited to a .091 hitting percentage in the second as it committed seven attack errors.  After Noah Weislo (Orchard Park, N.Y.) put away a kill to give Springfield an 11-10 lead, the Bison responded with the next five points as part of a 9-2 burst to take command of the frame.  Nichols would pull away for the 25-18 win to knot the match up a set apiece.

The Pride called an early timeout after surrendering the first three points of the third, but would later regain a 14-11 lead after a block from Costley and DeCamp forced Nichols into a timeout of their own. The Pride would push its lead to 19-13 on a huge block from Rouleau and Ethan Walters (St. Louis, Mo.) and cruise to a 25-19 win.In holding Nichols to just five kills at a -.037 hitting percentage, Rouleau had five blocks in the frame, while Levinson terminated five kills. 

Trailing 4-3 in the fourth, a pair of Levinson kills bookended a 4-0 burst to give Springfield a lead it would not relinquish.  Levinson would come up in a huge spot again, as a stuff block on the pin was the exclamation point on a 4-1 surge at 19-15.  Walters then put away the Pride's 16th kill of the set, concluding a frame where it hit .448 as a team, to complete the four-set win.

Springfield now turns its attention for a midweek clash against New Paltz on Wednesday in Blake Arena at 6 pm. 

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