Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – February 28, 2026 – The top-ranked Springfield College men's volleyball team suffered its first loss to a Division III opponent this year as Vassar College snuck by the Pride in five sets by scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 16-14 on Saturday afternoon in New York.

Vassar improved to 8-7, while Springfield dropped to 11-2 on the season. The Brewers have now held the Pride without a win in Kenyon Hall in four straight contests dating back to the 2023 season. Both matchups this season went the distance with Springfield winning in five on January 31 in Blake Arena.

Springfield will look to regroup before a trip to New Paltz on Wednesday at 6:00 pm.

Sam Levinson (LaGrange, Ill.) powered Springfield with 18 kills and 12 digs in addition to five assists and three blocks. Nathan Goh (Germantown, Md.) recorded 14 kills and completed the double-double with ten digs of his own, while Joey Preische (Penfield, N.Y.) hit a team-best .615 with nine kills on 13 swings. Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) recorded 49 assists and ten digs, while Ricardo Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico)added 11 digs to the stat line tonight.

As a team, Vassar recorded 62 kills – 27 of which came from Will Birnbaum and 19 of which came from Henry Bonney. Parker Schoenl dished out 45 assists, while Casey McMenamin posted a match-high 18 digs for the Brewers.

In the first, Springfield used a run of four straight points to take an 18-16 edge following kills from Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) and Levinson. A swing by Birnbaum, however, ignited a 6-1 run for Vassar as the hosts regained the edge, 22-19 before another kill from Birnbaum and a triple block in the middle gave the Brewers set point. The Pride fended off a pair of set points on a block by Mulvaney and an error by Vassar, but one final swing by Bonney secured the first for Vassar, 25-22.

Springfield trailed 12-9 midway through the second, by a kill from Will Kirchhoff (Macedon, N.Y.) set up a spurt of 13 of the next 16 points as the Pride forged ahead 22-15. Vassar answered with four consecutive points of its own, but a kill and block from Durivage secured set point for Springfield. Vassar then served the ball into the net tying the match at one. Springfield hit a match-high .423 in the second set.

Vassar jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the third and next relinquished the lead as for the third straight contest Springfield faced a deficit in the team score – this time it was 2-1 through three. Springfield was able to pull within three after back-to-back kills from Levinson and a block by Evan Costley (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Kirchhoff at 13-10 and following a kill from Goh at 17-14, but Vassar notched nine of the final 12 points of the set to take the edge heading to the fourth. Vassar hit a match-high .419 in the third, while Springfield hit a match low .143 in the stanza. 

In the fourth, neither team was able to grab more than a two point advantage until late in the set. A run of four straight points by Vassar made it 19-17, but a block by Cutter and Levinson paired with an ace by Levinson knotted the score at 19. Then down 22-21, Preische evened the score at 22 and led Springfield to four straight points to win it 25-22. The set ending run featured two kills from Preische, a kill from Mulvaney and a block by the aforementioned duo.

Springfield looked to be in control of the fifth up 10-5 following a swing by Levinson, but Birnbaum once again ignited the Vassar offense as the Brewers were eventually able to tie the score at 13 and at 14. Bonney and James Zuckerman teamed up for the final two points of the night as the Brewers defeated Springfield, 16-14, in the fifth and 3-2 in the match.

Sign up for free today to receive the latest news about your favorite Springfield College Athletics program directly to your email here. 

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to tune into all Springfield College Athletic events by subscribing to FloSports.