Springfield College Men's Volleyball Program Overview

Program Highlights
Springfield College men's volleyball has more national championships than any other program as the Pride have captured 12 titles, including NCAA Division III National Championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2026.
 
Under the direction of five-time AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year, six-time EIVA Division III Coach of the Year, and two-time ECAC Division III Coach of the Year, Charlie Sullivan, the Pride has had a total 42 student-athletes garner AVCA All-America recognition 77 times as no other Division III program in the country has received more AVCA All-American selections than the Pride's 77 honorees.

Sullivan received USA Volleyball's All-Time Great Coach award in the Donald S. Shondell Contemporary Division for 2015, as he became the 27th recipient of this prestigious award, which goes to an active coach or one that has been retired for less than five years. 
 
In addition, Springfield has had seven AVCA Division III National Player of the Year recipients and nine AVCA Division III National Newcomer of the Year honorees, the most of any program in the country.

Springfield College Men's Volleyball Competes in World University Games
For two weeks in July, 17 members of the Springfield College community represented Team USA as the men's volleyball program competed at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

Fresh of its second-straight NCAA Division III National Championship, the Pride changed their Maroon and White uniforms for the Red, White, and Blue as they competed against Australia, Estonia, Belarus, Russia, Korea, Hong Kong, China, Chile, and Macau on the international stage. 

Sullivan Earns Bronze
Springfield College head men's volleyball coach Charlie Sullivan and the United States Men's Volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Russia to claim the Bronze Medal at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games. Sullivan was a member of the coaching staff and served as a scout coach throughout the competition.

The U.S. came back from an 0-2 deficit to beat Russia, 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-13 at Maracanazinho arena. Despite losses to Canada and Italy, the United States picked up critical wins against eventual gold-medalists Brazil, France, and Mexico in pool play, and later bested Poland in the quarterfinals to reach the medal rounds.  After a five-set loss to the Italians, Team USA put together a remarkable comeback against Russia to claim the fifth men's volleyball medal for the U.S. Men in the Olympic Games. This came after Sullivan helped lead the 2015 U.S. Men's National Team to the FIVB World Cup Title. It was the first time the U.S. Men have won the World Cup since 1985 and the first time ever that they have qualified for the Olympics at the World Cup.

Regulars at the NCAA's
Since the inception of the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship in 2012, Springfield has been a mainstay in the national tournament. Springfield was the top seed in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2026 and the No. 2 seed in 2015, and 2016.

An Efficient Offense
Since 2012, Springfield has been the top-ranked offense in Division III men's volleyball with the number one hitting percentage in the nation. During the 2026 season, the Pride produced a .357 hitting percentage and in 2022, produced a .384 hitting percentage while Springfield hit at a .364 clip in 2020. In 2019, the Pride produced a .364 hitting percentage, while in 2018, Springfield is hitting at a .375 clip, which is .035 better than any other program in the country.  In 2017, the Pride posted a .414 hitting percentage, which was the highest hitting percentage of any program, men or women, at the NCAA Division I, II, or III level, and was over .100 points above the next team.  Springfield recorded a .382 clip in 2016, a .329 percentage in 2015, hit .331 as a team in 2014, notched a .381 clip in 2013, and posted a team hitting percentage of .387 in 2012.

Championship History
The Pride have won 12 Division III titles, hoisting the Molten Invitational National Championship trophy six times 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, before capturing six NCAA Division III Championships. The Pride swept Carthage in Blake Arena for the inaugural NCAA Division III title in 2012 before sweeping host Nazareth in 2013 and host Juniata in 2014 for its third-straight crown. The 2017 NCAA Division III title was captured in Blake Arena in four sets against SUNY New Paltz, while the Pride claimed the 2018 title in Wisconsin in a three-set sweep of Stevens. The past season, Springfield swept Carthage in three sets in Blake Arena to claim the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championship title. 

No Place Like Home
The friendly confines of Blake Arena and Dana Gymnasium have been especially beneficial to the Springfield College men's volleyball team as of late. The Pride owned 42-match home winning streak against Division III foes that ended in 2019 and have gone 205-14 at home dating back to 2012. 
 
Division III Supremacy
Since the NCAA began its sponsorship of the Division III Men's Volleyball National Championship in 2012, Charlie Sullivan and company have produced a 355-34 record against Division III opponents. Since 2008, the Pride have played in 13 out of 18 national championship games, including being victorious in eight of them. Dating back to the implementation of the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball National Championship in 2012, the Pride won three titles in a row from 2012-14, claimed titles in 2017, 2018 and 2026, and finished as the national runner-up four times.  
 
Top of the Polls
The Springfield College men's volleyball team set a new record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III National Poll as the Pride spent 37-straight polls as the top-ranked team spanning 2017-2019. In total leading into the 2025 season, Springfield has been ranked No. 1, 136 different times and has appeared in the national rankings on 389 different occasions.
 
Sweeping Up
Springfield won 87 of the 91 sets against Division III opponents in 2018. In fact, earlier that season, Springfield set a NCAA men's volleyball record for most consecutive sets won as it reeled off 43 before dropping a set at New Paltz on March 31. The Pride bested the previous mark of 32 that Hawaii set in 2017.  
 
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships
Nick Ferry '14 became the third member of the Springfield College men's volleyball team in the last four years to earn a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarship. The NCAA selects 29 male athletes and 29 female athletes from all spring sports and all three divisions to receive a $7,500 award for postgraduate study. In addition to Ferry, AJ Nally '10 and Mike Pelletier '13 were also honored for their achievements on and off the court.

Honored at Fenway
The Springfield College men's volleyball program was honored by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 and Wednesday, May 13, 2026 for national championships during those years. Head coach Charlie Sullivan was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.