Springfield, Mass. – March 29, 2025 – The Springfield College men's volleyball team defeated No. 2 nationally-ranked Southern Virginia University and St. Joseph's College of Long Island both in four sets in a tri-match held inside Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Springfield, which was ranked No. 3 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) Division III national poll, improved to 21-2 with its 13th straight victory and handed Southern Virginia University (26-1) its first loss of the 2025 season. Springfield topped Southern Virginia by scores of 25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 25-22 and St. Joseph's Long Island 25-13, 25-18, 24-26, 25-23.

Springfield 3, Southern Virginia 1

Springfield's offense was powered by Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.), who hit .455 with 11 kills and just one error on 22 swings, while Sam Levinson (LaGrange, Ill.) chipped in with nine kills and Carter Durivage (East Greenbush, N.Y.) added eight kills hitting .412. Levinson added two aces and two blocks, while Durivage tallied two blocks and five digs. Ricardo Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) registered eight digs, while Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) dished out 26 assists. Southern Virginia was paced by Christian Scheaffer, who hit .409 with 26 kills and five digs, while Jeremy Brown added 13 kills for the Knights.

Springfield hit .304 in the opening set, which midway through was even at 15. Two kills from Levinson and two block and a kill from Durivage made it 20-16 in favor of the Pride. Three errors from the Knights a kill from DesLauriers and an assisted block from DesLauriers and Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) gave Springfield the first, 25-23.

Up just one early in the second, a kill from Durivage ignited a 7-1 run for Springfield that saw five straight attack errors from Southern Virginia, a block from DesLauriers and a kill from Cutter to make it 18-11. Up by five, a kill from Levinson began the set-ending run that saw Springfield win it 25-21.

Southern Virginia hit .542 with a match-high 17 kills in the third to take its first set of the match 25-15. The Knights led 7-6 before ripping off a 10-3 run to go ahead by eight, 17-9. A pair of Springfield errors and a swing by Sheaffer pushed Southern Virginia's lead to ten before a swing by Kyler Evans secured the third set for the visitors.

Springfield trailed 11-6 early in the fourth, but a kill from Levinson ignited another lengthy run for the Pride – this time 8-1 to go ahead 14-12. The run featured three kills from Levinson and kill from DesLauriers and two errors by the Knights. An ace from Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and a solo block from Cutter made it 18-15 before Southern Virginia ultimately tied the score at 20. Back-to-back blocks from Levinson and Rouleau made it 22-20 before set point arrived following an error from the Knights. Sheaffer hit the ball into the block of Mulvaney and Rouleau ending the set 25-22 and the match in favor of Springfield 3-1.

Springfield 3, St. Joseph's 1

Three Springfield student-athletes registered double-digit kills against St. Joseph's led by Joey Preishce (Penfield, N.Y.), who hit .257 with 15 kills. Levinson added to his day with 14 kills in the nightcap, while Will Kirchhoff (Macedon, N.Y.) hit. 692 with ten kills and just one error on 13 swings for the Pride. DesLauriers also registered nine kills against St. Joseph's. Mulvaney notched a double-double with 44 assists and ten digs, while Giancarlo Carrion (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tallied three aces and Kirchhoff posted four blocks. Cole Violi led the visitors with 13 kills.

Springfield hit .667 in the opening set with 15 kills and just one error on 21 swings and eased by St. Joseph's 25-13. The Pride raced out to a 9-3 edge following an ace by DesLauriers before ultimately going ahead by ten at 16-6 after a swing by Preische. The two teams traded points kills from Preische, Cutter and AJ Seveland (Jenkintown, Pa.) gave Springfield the first set.

Springfield once again jumped out to an early lead in the second – this time 7-3 after a kill and an ace from Levinson. A 7-2 spurt that featured two kills and an ace from Levinson as well back-to-back kills from DesLauriers pushed Springfield ahead eight, 20-12. Three swings by Preische down the stretch in addition to a kill from Kirchhoff and an ace from Richard Eber Jr. (Hummelstown, Pa.) secured the second for the Pride, 25-18. 

Springfield led 22-21 in the third, but St. Joseph's used two kills from Logan Meyer and a pair of blocks to win the third 26-24. The Golden Eagles hit a match-high .414 with 17 kills in the third set, while holding the Pride to a match-low 13 kills and a .259 hitting percentage.

The final set of the evening featured four ties and a lead change in a very back and forth stanza. Tied at 20, Levinson and DesLauriers gave Springfield set point at 24-23 before Preische ended the match on his 15th kill of the match.

Springfield is slated to host Rivier University on Wednesday at 7:00 pm in Blake Arena.

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