Springfield, Mass. – February 8, 2025 – The Springfield College men's volleyball team swept MIT and Nichols College in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon 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 8-1 on the season, while MIT fell to 8-4 and Nichols moved to 4-9. MIT entered today ranked 20th by the AVCA and Nichols was receiving votes in the same poll.
 
Springfield defeated MIT by set scores of 25-20, 25-16, 25-18 and Nichols 25-19, 25-15, 25-23 to push its winning streak to eight and remain unbeaten against Division III opponents this season.

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Springfield 3, MIT 0

Joey Preische (Penfield, N.Y.) led Springfield with nine kills and also tallied two aces, two blocks and three digs. Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) hit .455 with seven kills and also had three aces and three blocks. Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.) registered a team-best five digs to go along with three kills, while Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) dished out 24 assists in the sweep.
 
The opening set featured seven ties and two lead changes with neither team hitting over .100. Even at 14, a kill by Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) and a block from Cutter and DesLauriers gave Springfield a 16-14 edge and forced MIT to call a timeout. After trading points, Rouleau gave Springfield its largest lead of the set, 19-15, on a swing through the middle before swings by Cutter, Richard Eber Jr. (Hummelstown, Pa.) and an ace from Mulvaney secured the first, 25-20.
 
Springfield hit a match high .429 with 12 kills in the middle set – three of which came from Cutter and Preische. Tied for the final time at 15, Springfield embarked on a 10-1 set ending run that was ignited by a swing from Sam Levinson (LaGrange, Ill.). Back-to-back aces from Rouleau extended Springfield's lead to 18-16 before two aces from Mulvaney and swings by Preische and Levinson gave the Pride the second, 25-16.
 
Levinson led the charge with three kills for the Pride in the final stanza. Springfield jumped out to a 6-2 lead following a swing by DesLauriers and an error by MIT. Out a timeout called by MIT late in the set, back-to-back kills by Will Kirchhoff (Macedon, N.Y.) and Levinson as well as a triple block put Springfield within two points of the sweep. A service error by MIT and an ace by Levinson secured the 25-18 win and the three set sweep.
 
Springfield 3, Nichols 0
 
DesLauriers and Rouleau combined for 23 kills (23-1-37) in the nightcap against Nichols, while Preische and Levinson posted eight kills apiece. At the service line, the Pride produced ten aces three from both DesLauriers and Kirchhoff. 
 
Levinson and Rouleau combined for nine of Springfield's 17 kills as the Pride hit at a .406 clip with six aces to breeze by Nichols, 25-19, in the first set. Tied at 11, a swing by DesLauriers gave Springfield a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. Back-to-back aces by Kirchhoff extended the lead to six, 23-17, before Levinson and DesLauriers teamed up for solo kills to secure the set, 25-19.
 
DesLauriers hit .875 with seven kills on eight swings to power the Springfield offense with hit .579 in the second and won it by a 25-15 score. The set saw the score even on ten different occasions with the final time coming at 11. A swing by Levinson tied the score at 11 before the Pride embarked on a brief 5-2 run. An ace by Kirchhoff and a kill from DesLauriers gave Springfield a 15-12 edge and then scored ten of the sets final 12 points for the 2-0 lead. The 10-2 set-ending run featured three aces from DesLauriers and a kill from Rouleau before an error by the Bison came on the sets final point.
 
Springfield raced out to a 10-4 lead in the third following a swing by Rouleau as he picked up the kill. Nichols eventually climbed back within two at 19-17 following a pair of aces by the Bison and forced Springfield to call its first timeout of the set. Out of the break, Rouleau slammed the ball through the middle as the Pride for the kill, but Nichols went on to tie the score at 21 and traded points with Springfield until the Pride had match point. Rouleau registered the final kill of the match ending the tri-match with 18 kills.
 
Springfield is slated to welcome No. 1 NYU, Illinois Wesleyan and Arcadia for next weekend's Morgan Classic beginning at 6:00 pm on Friday in Blake Arena.