Springfield, Mass. – February 14, 2025 – Sixth-ranked Springfield College men's volleyball fell to top-ranked New York University in straights sets by scores of 33-31, 25-20, 26-24 to open play at the 2025 International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Friday night in Blake Arena.

Springfield, which was ranked No. 6 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) Division III national poll took its first loss against a Division III opponent this year and is now 8-2, while NYU, which was ranked first in the same poll, remained unbeaten at 12-0.

Springfield will play Arcadia University in the consolation match at 6:00 pm tomorrow, while NYU and Illinois Wesleyan University will face off in the championship match at 8:15 pm. Earlier this evening Illinois Wesleyan defeated Arcadia in straight sets.

Carter Durivage (East Greenbush, N.Y.) led Springfield's offense with 12 kills, while Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.) registered seven kills, seven digs and three blocks for the Pride. Both Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) added five kills apiece in the effort as Springfield hit .217 as a team against the Violets. Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) dished out 33 assists and Rouleau posted a team-best five blocks tonight.

Lucas Osiecki guided NYU with 14 kills and hit .346 to go along with five digs and an assist, while Ry Kagan hit a team-best .636 with seven kills on 11 errorless swings and added a trio of solo blocks. Defensively, Zach Knudsen posted 11 digs, while Devyn Nguyen notched 37 helpers in the win for the visitors.

The opening set was a marathon stretching all the way until NYU took it by a 33-31 final as the stanza featured 12 tie scores. Springfield produced 19 kills compared to just nine for the Violets, but NYU came out on top due to nine service errors for Springfield. Durivage led Springfield with eight kills on 18 swings in the opening stanza. The Pride produced eight kills on its first eight swings of the match ultimately leading to an 10-5 edge. Late in the set, Springfield maintained its edge, 23-20, following an NYU error, but the Violets ripped off four straight points on four miscues by the Pride to fend off set point and knot the score at 24. Points were traded back and forth back-to-back swinging errors by Springfield gave NYU the first, 33-31.

In the second NYU's offense came alive as Osiecki hit .545 (7K-1E-11TA) and tallied seven of the teams 15 kills in the set compared to just eight kills that Springfield had despite hitting a match-best .227 in the second. As in the first, the second set featured 12 tie scores with the final time coming at 18 following a huge block from Rouleau. NYU used four straight kills for a 22-18 advantage and went on to win the set, 25-20. The Violets scored eight of the final 11 points of the set – seven of which were registered as kills and the eighth as a block by Nguyen and Buddy Cohen.

NYU's balanced offense recorded 17 kills in the third – six of which came from Osiecki – to finish the sweep. After an error by Springfield gave NYU a 2-1 lead early on, the Violets never relinquished the lead until late in the stanza. Springfield trailed 24-19 with Domino Wishart (Orlando, Fla.) serving for the Pride. His serving streak saw a block by Joey Preische (Penfield, N.Y.) and Rouleau, back-to-back kills by Preische, a block by Cutter and a kill by Durivage to even the score at 24. Swings by Kagan and Osiecki ultimately gave NYU the set, 26-24, and the sweep over the Pride.

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