Rochester, N.Y. - September 7, 2024 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories over Brockport and RIT on Saturday to wrap up their trip in Western New York with a 3-0 record at the RIT Invitational.   The victory over RIT was a milestone mark for head coach Moira Long as she achieved her 600th career victory in her 28th season as a collegiate volleyball coach. 294 of those victories have come at Springfield College since she took over the program in 2011. 

Springfield, which was receiving votes in this week's AVCA Division III Coaches Poll, improved to 4-2 with the wins. 

In a 25-10, 25-17, 25-17 victory over Brockport, Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) totaled 10 kills, Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tallied six kills and five blocks, and Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) contributed six kills, six digs, three blocks, and three aces. Kristen DeLorenzo (Syracuse, N.Y.) registered 11 digs and Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) handed out 18 assists in her homecoming.  Springfield held Brockport to a -.067 hitting percentage in the setback. 

Springfield set the tone from the opening whistle against Brockport, leading 13-3 following a stuff block from Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) and Jodi Saelua (Miliani, Hawaii).  Bolstered by five kills from Donahue, Springfield eased its way to a 25-10 win as Brockport had just three kills in the set. 

Trailing 8-6 in the second, Springfield put together an 8-3 run to take a 14-11 lead it would not relinquish. Saelua had two blocks in the set as Springfield's defense forced Brockport into 10 hitting errors in the 25-17 win.

Hailey Deguire (Rotterdam, N.Y.) posted two-straight aces to fuel the Pride's 6-1 start in the third set. Billet had a team-best three kills in the set and capped of another 25-17 win by teamming up with Kylie Wixted (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) for a match-sealing block. 

Against host RIT, Springfield prevailed by the scores of 25-16, 20-25, 25-13, 25-15 as the Pride's offense was impressive hitting at a .484 clip.  Billet paced the attack 15 kills at a .542 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs, while Donahue turned in 12 kills, eight digs, and three aces.  Colosimo turned in a 37-assist performance while chipping in six digs, five kills, and three aces and Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) racked up eight kills, six blocks, and five digs. 

James connected for a pair of blocks as part of a 5-0 scoring run early in the first set to help the Pride seize a 13-6 cushion. A kill from Donahue would push the lead to 22-9 before the hosts third service error of the game gave Springfield the 25-16 win. Donahue was explosive in the set, contributing five kills.

RIT responded by racing out to a 7-1 lead in the second set, but Springfield showed plenty of grit to pull within 19-17 on an ace by Morgan Stafford (Corbett, Ore.).  However, the Tigers were able to hold on for a 25-20 victory to even the match up at 1-1. 

Springfield's offense was dominant in the third, notching 15 kills on 23-errorless attempts for a .652 clip as James, Donahue, Billet, and Voltz all had three kills to help the Pride ease to a 25-13 win. 

Trailing 7-6 in the fourth, Springfield scored six-straight points, with Colosimo delivering back-to-back aces to force RIT into a timeout. The Pride kept things rolling, extending a 19-11 advantage on a Voltz kill coming out of another RIT timeout before  Saelua wrapped up the 25-15 win with her fourth kill of the match. 

Springfield will now prepare for next weekend's Brandeis Invitational, where the Pride will face off against Roger Williams, Bowdoin, and Brandeis starting on Friday.

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