Springfield, Mass. – April 3, 2024 – The Springfield College men's volleyball team was edged by visiting MIT on Wednesday night in Blake Arena in five sets.  The Engineers prevailed by the scores of 25-19, 16-25, 21-25, 26-24, 17-15.
 
The showdown pitted a pair of nationally-ranked teams as 10^th-ranked Springfield dropped to 17-5 on the while, while 14^th-ranked MIT moved to 17-7. 
 
Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) directed an especially balanced attack with 53 assists as four players registered double digit kills and the team hit .408. Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) totaled a team-best 15 kills, hitting .650 in the middle, while Evan Costley (Simi Valley, Calif.) notched 14 kills and 10 digs.  Sam Levinson (La Grange, Ill.) returned to the lineup with 13 kills and Ethan Walters (St. Louis, Mo.) added 12 kills.  Ricardo Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) led all players with 16 digs as Springfield played in its seventh fifth-set match of the year.

Nicholas Gustafson notchined 16 kills and Grant Oh added 13 of his own, but it was the Engineers serving that was the difference as they had 11 aces on the night, including three from Gustafson and Jensen Fiskin. 

The Pride jumped out to a 6-2 lead after three-straight kills out of the middle, including a pair from Rouleau. However, MIT would respond with 10-1 surge fueled by the play of Gustafson.  Springfield would pull within 16-14, only consecutive errors by the hosts put MIT in control as they cruised to the 25-19 win following the Pride's ninth attack error of the frame.

Springfield used a 9-0 run early in the second to seize command as Walters blistered an ace to make it 12-4.  Levinson would team with classmate Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) for the set-sealing block at 25-16, capping off a stanza where the Pride hit .588 and received four kills from Rouleau.  

It was the Engineers who would lead 16-14 midway through the third, but the Pride rattled off the next four points, highlighted by back-to-back aces from Giancarlo Carrion (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico), to make it an 18-14 contest.  After MIT knotted it up at 19-all, Costley would deliver three kills down the stretch and Levinson would bounce an overpass on set point for the 25-21 win.  Springfield's offense was again in control, totaling 16 kills at a .480 clip with Costley putting away five kills.

The teams would be tied 17 times in the fourth set, the last coming at 24-24.  MIT would get a kill out of the middle from Phillip Johnson and then Ryan Espinoza registered their fourth ace of the set to force a fifth set, despite Springfield hitting .577 with 16 kills, including six from Walters.

The fifth set was another back-and-forth affair, featuring 11 ties and seven lead changes.  After MIT went up 9-8, Costley would produce three-straight kills to put the Pride ahead before Levinson ripped a kill cross court in transition for match point at 14-12.  However, Gustafson would side out and Fiskin then came off the bench to deliver back-to-back aces on float serves to swing the momentum towards the visitors as they were able to pull out a 17-15 win.

Springfield will play its final Division III competition of the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Vassar for a tri-match with Hunter that starts at 1 pm.

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