Box ScoreSpringfield, Mass. - April 6, 2010 - The Springfield College men's volleyball team was swept in its final EIVA Tait Conference match of the season by the visiting St. Francis Red Flash on Tuesday evening in Blake Arena. St. Francis won the match by the set scores of 30-27, 30-28, 30-21.
Springfield now stands at 16-9, 4-6 in conference play. The Red Flash even its record to 11-11, 4-5 in league action.
This marks the first time Springfield has been swept since February 26 when it dropped three sets in a row to UC Santa Barbara. It is only the third time this entire season that the Pride have failed to win a game in a match.
Three members of the Pride notched double figures in the kill column as both Alberto Bravo and AJ Nally registered 12 kills. Cal Palumbo finished with 10 kills, hitting .412, and added three blocks. Eric Shoemaker handed out 45 assists in three games and led the Pride with four blocks. Alex Harrison had a solid game on defense, posting 12 digs, while Nally added seven digs of his own.
For the match, St. Francis hit .408 for the match and was led by a trio on offense. Jordan Varee finished with a match-high 19 kills, hitting at a .567 clip, while both Pete Freyer and Nick Rivett registered 12 kills apiece, with Freyer hitting .786 in the match. Ryan Williams delivered 46 assists, Freyer posted a team-best five blocks, and Varee and Tyler Mattera each were credited with eight digs.
The opening set featured 14 ties and four lead changes as the teams traded points to start the contest. After a Bravo kill made it 14-all, kills from Rivett, Patrick McManamon, and Varee, coupled by a solo stuff by McManamon, gave the visitors an 18-14 advantage and forced a Springfield timeout. The Pride clawed back into the contest and got within two on nine occasions, but a Freyer kill ended the first set at 30-27.
The Red Flash rode the momentum into the second game as it opened up a 17-9 lead after a Springfield hitting error. Out of an SC timeout, the Pride regained its composure and battled back to trail by just one, 26-25, after a Palumbo kill. A 3-1 spurt gave the visitors match point at 29-26, but back-to-back hitting errors brought SC within a point at 28-29. However, Varee ended the Pride's hope of a comeback with his eighth kill of the second set to give the visitors a two-set advantage.
Palumbo knotted the third sest early at three apiece, only to have the visitors pour on a 10-4 run capped off by back-to-back Varee aces. Springfield had trouble stopping the Red Flash offense in the third as St. Francis hit .600 in the stanza, committing just one error on 25 swings while posting 16 kills.
The Pride will play for a second-consecutive night on Wednesday evening when it hosts Baruch at 7:00 pm in Blake Arena.
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.
