MEN’S VOLLEYBALL DROPS HOME-OPENER TO #1 SPRINGFIELD, 3-1

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior right side Greg Woods (Middletown, Conn.) recorded a match-high 16 kills to lead the Springfield College men's volleyball team past Emmanuel College, 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-9, 25-13), Tuesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium. The Pride, who received 250 total votes in the most recent AVCA national poll for a #1 overall ranking, improve to 8-1 on the year while extending their win streak to seven in a row. Emmanuel falls to 2-2 in the early goings of the 2016 campaign.

The Saints opened the match strong, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first set behind the service game of junior setter Jorge Rojas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) who finished the night with a match-high four aces. Back to back hitting errors by the Pride gave EC a 10-8 lead midway through the action, forcing Springfield to use a timeout to regroup. It worked as the visitors reeled off six straight points to go up 14-10, capped by an ace by sophomore Ricardo Padilla Ayala (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Emmanuel responded with a 9-1 run fueled by a pair of kills by senior middle Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) to reclaim a 19-15 lead late in the set. Springfield was able to battle back and tie to score at 23-all following two EC errors but Emmanuel closed out the set with the final two points including a kill by senior outside hitter Barrett Wingard (York, Pa.) to secure a 25-23 first set win. It was the first set Emmanuel has taken from the Pride since their first-ever meeting on Jan. 28, 2011, ranging over a course of 8 matches and 24 consecutive sets.

Springfield raced ahead to an 8-1 lead in set two and never looked back. After hitting a negative -.294 in the opening set, the Pride would post a .400 hitting clip in the second frame en route to a 25-16 win to even the match at 1-1.  Junior outside hitter Luis Vega (Corozal, Puerto Rico) paced the visitors with five kills in the set.

Emmanuel held a 5-4 lead in the third set after a kill by freshman opposite Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.) but six straight points by Springfield made it 10-5 in favor of the visitors. Six players recorded kills in the set for the Pride as they would cruise to a 25-9 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match, hitting .500 in the third set while holding the Saints to a dismal negative -.037 clip.

The action was back and forth in the fourth frame as the squads traded points up until an Ayala kill gave the Pride a 9-7 advantage. Following a Springfield service error to pull the Saints within three points at 11-8, the Pride put the match away with a 6-0 run, fueled by three consecutive kills by senior middle Julian Welsh-White (Collingswood, N.J.) to give the #1 ranked Pride a 17-8 cushion. They'd coast to a 25-13 win to take the match 3-1.

Woods led all players with 16 kills while hitting .440 from the floor. Vega added 11 kills while junior setter Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) dished out a match-high 32 assists. Ayala was the only player on either side to record double-digit digs, finishing with 10 on the match.

For the Saints, McGarry and Wingard each registered seven kills while Orsley added six kills. Rojas recorded 19 assists and a team-high eight digs.

Emmanuel returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 6 when they head to Mount Saint Vincent for a tri-match against the Dolphins and Cairn University starting at 3:00 PM. Springfield hosts the Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic beginning with a match on Friday, Feb. 5 against #8 New York University at 7:30 PM.