Springfield, Mass. – February 6, 2025 – The Springfield College men's volleyball team defeated New Paltz in four sets in the team's 2025 home opener as the Pride won by set scores of 25-14, 19-25, 25-23, 25-17 on Thursday Night in Blake Arena.
 
Springfield, which was ranked No. 7 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) Division III national poll and No. 7 by FrogJump Volleyball is now 6-1 on the season, while New Paltz fell to 4-6 this year. New Paltz came into tonight's match ranked 29th by FrogJump.
 
Springfield entered tonight's match ranked second in the nation in hitting percentage at a clip of .403 only behind Southern Virginia (.422).

Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.) led Springfield's offense with 14 kills and hit an even .500 on the night, while Joey Preische (Penfield, N.Y.) hit .474 and added a career-best 12 kills on 19 swings. Richard Eber Jr. (Hummelstown, Pa.) tallied nine kills and seven digs, while Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) hit a team best. 636 with eight kills on 11 swings in addition to two aces and three blocks. Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) dished out 43 assists in the four set win for the Pride.
 
Springfield hit .353 with ten kills in the opening set and held the visiting Hawks to a -.250 percentage en route to the 25-14 victory. DesLauriers posted five of Springfield's ten kills in the first, while as a team the Pride tallied five blocks in the stanza. Up 7-6 early on, Springfield embarked on an 8-1 run featuring four kills from DesLauriers to build a 15-7 advantage. Swings by Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) and Eber Jr. paired with a service error from New Paltz easily gave Springfield the first.
 
Tied at seven in the second, three straight kills from New Paltz's Geoff Ndoria, Nikko Tenedorio and Mike Handell gave the visitors a 10-7 lead – a lead they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the set. An 8-3 run late in the set capped by an ace from Daniel Shanley gave New Paltz set point, but kills by both Preische and DesLauriers put Springfield back within five. It was Tenedorio though who terminated the set with a swing of his own to tie the match at one a side.

Springfield raced out to an 8-4 lead in the third and following back-to-back kills from Rouleau and DesLauriers New Paltz was forced to call a timeout. Later in the set leading by just one at 13-12, Springfield scored five of the next six points for an 18-13 edge. Springfield had set point at 24-20 following a swing by Eber Jr., but New Paltz fended off three straight points to make it just a two point differential. Out of a Springfield timeout, a service error by the Hawks gave the Pride the 25-23 victory. Springfield hit a match-best .550 (14-3-20) and had a pair of aces in the third.
 
A kill by DesLauriers and two errors from New Paltz to open the fourth gave Springfield an early 9-4 edge. Eber Jr. ballooned Springfield's lead to eight at 15-7 on a swing from the hands of Mulvaney. New Paltz answered however with six of the next eight points to cut its deficit to just three and forced Springfield to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Pride answered with a 6-2 run of its own piloted by a pair of kills from both DesLauriers and Rouleau and capped on an ace by Eber Jr. to put Springfield within two points of clinching the match. DesLauriers' 14th kill of the night paired with a service error by New Paltz gave Springfield the 25-17 set four win and the match, 3-1.
 
Springfield will host No. 20 MIT and Nichols College in a tri-match in Blake Arena on Saturday beginning at 3:30 pm.

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