Springfield, Mass. - April 22, 2010 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team had four players named to the 2010 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) All-East Team on Monday afternoon, the highest number of selections in program history. AJ Nally and Eric Shoemaker were named to the first team, while Cal Palumbo and Greg Falcone earned second team honors. The Pride play in the EIVA Conference, which is comprised of 11 teams, seven of which are either Division I or Division II institutions. Thus, these players selections are quite impressive as out of a possible 20 all-conference selections between the first and second teams, 16 of 20 selections were from Division I or II schools.
Nally has continued to rack up the awards this season as he was recently named the AVCA Division III Player of the Year and the EIVA Division III Conference Player of the Year honor after a standout final season for the Maroon and White. This season, Nally has led the team with 430 kills, averaging 4.13 per set, while hitting .282 from his outside hitter position. He has registered 277 digs, the most for any player in program history in one season, and earlier this year set the program mark for most digs in a career.
Shoemaker guided Springfield in his senior season as he has registered 1295 assists, just over 12.9 per game. The two-time All-American leads the team with 31 service aces and has racked up 101 blocks, the third highest total on the team. This is the second-straight year Shoemaker earned All-East honors, taking home second team honors last year.
Palumbo had yet another dominating season for the Pride as he posted 278 kills at an incredible .437 hitting percentage out of the middle. The three-time All-American and two-time EIVA All-East selection is second on the team in blocks with 133 this season, averaging 1.25 per game.
In his first season for the Pride, Falcone set the program mark for blocks in a single season as he has racked up 180 blocks in just 106games played. Currently leading the country in blocks per game with 1.70, the freshman has chipped in with 157 kills to date. Throughout the season, Falcone had four matches where he had at least 10 blocks.
In addition to their success on the courts, several members of the team were honored for their academic endevours by being named to the 2010 EIVA All-Academic Team. Nally, Shoemaker, and classmate Alex Harrison were all honored as they met the academic requirements to be selected. All have over a 3.5 grade point average and have played in at least 60% of Springfield's games this season.
With seven national championships to his credit, Charlie Sullivan will enter his 15th season as head coach of the men's volleyball team in 2013. In 14 previous years at the helm, Sullivan owns an overall record of 224-155 for a .591 winning percentage. Read more.
