Springfield, Mass. – April 17, 2026 – The top-ranked Springfield College men's volleyball team earned a four set win over Buffalo State University by scores of 22-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-17 in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Friday afternoon in Blake Arena.

With the win, Springfield improved to 22-3 and will advance to the NCAA National Quarterfinal match slated for tomorrow at 6:30pm against No. 7 New Paltz. New Paltz defeated No. 9 NYU, 3-0, in the other first round contest played in Blake Arena on Friday night by scores of 28-26, 25-15, 25-18. Springfield and New Paltz will face each other for the third time this season with the two sides splitting the matchups in 2026.

Springfield will be making its 11th appearance in the NCAA national quarterfinal tomorrow and will fight for a spot in the semifinal round which is slated to take place next weekend in Blake Arena.

As a team, Springfield hit .411 with 57 kills on the night highlighted by Carter Durivage (East Greenbush, N.Y.) registered 16 kills and hit .583. Brennan Cutter (Trumbull, Conn.) added nine kills on 14 swings, while Will Kirchhoff (Macedon, N.Y.) and Joey Preische (Penfield, N.Y.) notched seven kills apiece. Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) notched 49 assists, while Ricardo Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) tallied ten of Springfield's 34 digs on the night.

Springfield's 57 kills are the sixth most for the Pride this season and Springfield also hit .400 or better for the tenth time as the Pride boast the country's most potent offensive attack swinging at a .351 clip in 25 contests this year.

After Buffalo State took an early 3-2 lead in the first, a swing by Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.) ignited a run of eight straight points that saw three aces and three kills from DesLauriers. The Pride forged ahead 12-5 before the Bengals were able to pull within two at 12-10 with seven consecutive points of their own. The two sides then traded points before a 5-2 run by the visitors ultimately tied the score at 21. The Springfield errors paired with a kill from Gavin Wilczewski and a block from Drew Bowman and Kieran Eagen gave Buffalo State the first, 25-21.

From that point on, Springfield, which hit .233 in the first, went on to swing at a .481 clip over the rest of the match. Buffalo State took an 8-7 edge in the second before Springfield ripped off six straight points for a 13-8 lead – a run that was capped on two straight aces from Sam Levinson (LaGrange, Ill.) and a solo block by Cutter. Springfield later led 14-9 following a kill from Durivage and proceeded to score seven of the next eight points for a 21-11 advantage. Up 22-14, a swing by Levinson, an error by the Bengals and a block by Cutter and Preische secured the second 25-14.

In the third, Kaden Strong gave Buffalo State a 4-3 lead before a Bengals error and four straight kills from Durivage eventually made it 11-5. A swing by Cutter then ignited another brief spurt for the Pride this time pushing the hosts ahead 17-10. Up 21-15, A swing by Preische sparked four straight points to end the third for the Pride. The set-ending run featured two kills from Presiche, a kill from Cutter and an ace from Richard Eber Jr. (Hummelstown, Pa.).

Springfield raced out to a 5-1 lead before Kirchhoff and Preische put the Pride ahead 7-3. The offense surged for five straight points on kills – including two from AJ Seveland (Jenkintown, Pa.) making it 16-8. The two sides traded points before Nathan Goh (Germantown, Md.) put Springfield within two points of clinching the four set win. A service error gave Springfield match point and Evan Costley (Simi Valley, Calif.) terminated the match with swing off the hands of Dyllan Nguyen (Fountain Valley, Calif.) to win the fourth 25-17.

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