Springfield, Mass. - August 31, 2024 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team earned its first victory of the 2024 season as it swept Westfield State before dropping a five-set match to Stevens in the Joel B. Dearing '79 Volleyball Classic on Saturday.  The Pride prevailed over the Owls by the scores of 25-8, 25-19, 25-9 before falling 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11 to fall to 1-2 on the year.

Springfield 3, Westfield State 0
Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) totaled a match-best 10 kills on 15 errorless swings and Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) contributed eight kills and two blocks.  Jodi Saelua (Miliani, Hawaii) tallied seven kills and two blocks of her own, while Kristen DeLorenzo (Syracuse, N.Y.) was credited with 11 digs to go along with four aces.  Springfield finished the contest hitting .364 and tallied 13 service aces. 

Springfield hit a blistering .611 (13-2-18) in the first set after after the score was event at four, the Pride ripped off an 11-1 run to pull ahead by a 15-5 margin as both Donahue and Voltz powered Springfield with four kills apiece in the stanza. Following a Springfield error late in the set, a swing by Voltz and an error by Westfield secured the first, 25-8.

The Pride produced 17 kills on 36 swings in the second (.306) and despite allowing 19 points to the Owls in the set, took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Once again Donahue (six) and Voltz (four) guided Springfield's offensive unit in the set which also saw both Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) and Saelua tally three kills apiece. The Pride scored the first six points of the set with DeLorenzo at the service line and never relinquished their advantage. Voltz swung for three of the four final points of the second to win it 25-19.

In the third, seven different student-athletes for Springfield tallied at least one kill as Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) led the charge with three kills of her own. Springfield once again raced out to a big lead – this time 10-2. It was Eva Dudley (Meriden, Conn.) who won the match for the Pride in the third with back-to-back kills from Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) for the sweep.

Stevens 3, Springfield 2
In a matchup of two squads who were receiving votes in the AVCA Division III Preseason Coaches Poll, Springfield benefited from a 20-kill, 11-dig outing by Riley Donahue, while Kristen DeLorenzo racked up 26 digs.  Natalie Billet contributed 13 kills, nine digs, and four aces and the middle duo of Maeve Voltz and Jodi Saleua combined for 14 kills and nine blocks.  

An ace from DeLorenzo put the Pride in control of the first with a 12-7 lead, only to have the visitors respond with a 7-1 run to force the Pride into a timeout following back-to-back hitting errors.  A kill from Donahue would knot the frame up at 20-all, but Stevens used three-straight points to propel its way to a 25-23 win.  

The Pride used another fast start in the second, leading 12-4 midway through the frame.  However, Stevens would answer with a 14-5 surge to take an 18-17 edge as the Pride called for another timeout.  After Stevens pushed its lead to 23-20, Springfield closed out the stanza with the final five points, as Donahue painted the back line in transition for set point before Billet dropped in an ace to tie the match up at 1-1. 

In the third, Stevens broke open a 10-10 game with an 8-3 run to force Springfield into its second timeout of the set.    The Pride would battle back from its five-point deficit as Donahue hammered a kill to tie the set at 22 apiece.  However, out of a timeout, Stevens manufactured three kills down the stretch to seal another 25-23 win. 

Billet terminated eight kills on nine errorless swings in the fourth to fuel the Pride to a 25-17 victory.  Springfield would lead by as many as 10 points at 20-10 and would force the fifth stanza on Billet's 13th kill of the evening.

Springfield jumped out to a 6-2 advantage following two consecutive services aces by Billet, only to have Stevens respond with five-straight points to take a one-point edge at the flip.  After Donahue converted a kill to tie the set at nine, Stevens took advantage of a Pride service error and delivered a pair of transition kills to get a three-point lead which it would carry into a 15-11 win. 

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