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Defending champion Springfield had its 30-match win streak against Division III opponents snapped last weekend when No. 3 Rivier beat the Pride in three sets at the Live Free or Die Invitational. Fourth-ranked Springfield did get back on the winning track in its second game of the invitational, a sweep of Johnson & Wales (R.I.), but it doesn't get easier with a trip to undefeated and No. 2 New Paltz State up next on the slate.
Five of New Paltz's seven wins this season have been sweeps. Last weekend, The Hawks beat No. 14 Kean 3-1 and swept Lancaster Bible. New Paltz will be making it home debut on Thursday as it plays host to Springfield. Last season, The Pride topped the Hawks in four sets.
Springfield will return home after four games on the road on Saturday for two matches, hosting Kean and Daniel Webster.
New Paltz's busy week will continue at the UVC Crossover at MIT. The Hawks will play D'Youville and No. 7 Elmira on Saturday and No. 6 Nazareth on Sunday. Nazareth (2-2) struggled at its own Golden Flyer Tournament, losing two out of three including a sweep to No. 5 UC Santa Cruz. Elmira was at the tournament as well and it took two of three, with its wins against then-No. 15 Medaille and then-No. 7 Carthage.
Other notes from the top 10:
Juniata jumped to the top spot in the rankings following three wins at the Golden Flyer Invitational. It will play another three matches this weekend as part of the CVC Crossover, including the opener against No. 10 Carthage. ... No. 3 Rivier is idle until Feb. 12. ... No. 8 Baruch will be at the CUNYAC Multi-Match Day, playing CCNY and Medgar Evers. ... No. 9 New York University will okay Hilbert, Medaille and Penn State-Behrend at the UVC Crossover.
