No. 1 Rivier 3, No. 2 Springfield 2
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Springfield nearly rallied for a five-set victory but ultimately fell to Rivier on Saturday afternoon in Blake Arena. The Raiders knocked off the Pride for the second time this season with a 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 22-25, 19-17 win.
Rivier (7-1), which handed Springfield its first Division III loss earlier this season, entered the match ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Division III coaches' poll. Springfield (10-5) was ranked No. 2 in the nation this week.
Angel Perez led Springfield with 17 kills on the afternoon, while both Greg Woods and Sean Zuvich came off the bench to registered 14 kills apiece. Sean Peterson tallied a team-best seven blocks, and Luis Garcia Rubio notched 40 assists in the final three sets.
Chris Markuson also finished the afternoon with 17 kills for the visiting Raiders. Aaron Almario notched 13 kills while hitting .500, and Shane Spellman totaled 11 kills of his own. Terence Mattatal controlled the middle with 10 kills and seven blocks. Tyler Blank also had seven blocks to go along with 50 assists.
No. 2 Springfield 3, Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 0
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Springfield wrapped up its own Invitational on Saturday afternoon with a three-set win against Johnson & Wales (R.I.) by the set scores of 25-14, 25-18, 25-17. The win improves the Pride's record to 11-6 this season.
Greg Woods powered Springfield to the win with 12 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, while Ryan Malone added 11 kills at a .450 clip. Luis Garcia Rubio led the Pride to a .387 hitting percentage with 34 assists, and Jimmy O'Leary notched six kills, three aces, and two blocks. Angel Perez recorded a match-best eight digs in the victory.
For the Wildcats, Ryan Kennedy registered a team-best 12 kills, and Shawn Kennedy added six kills and four digs. Alex Viera was credited with six digs and J.J. Bessette delivered 18 assists as his team hit .097 for the match.
No. T3 New Paltz State 3, Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 0
No. T3 New Paltz State 3, Bard 1
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- After a day in which No. 3 New Paltz State made history, the Hawks won twice Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Springfield Invitational to claim the event's title. New Paltz beat Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-17), before topping Bard College 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-18).
The Hawks went 4-0 at the Springfield Invitational, which included a pair of straight-set wins Friday against the top two teams in NCAA Division III: No. 1 Rivier and No. 2 Springfield.
A total of 12 student-athletes took the floor for the Hawks against Johnson & Wales, and sophomore middle blocker Christopher Husmann led a balanced attack by slamming down eight kills. Junior setter John Lutjen and sophomore setter Christian Smith dished out 19 and 12 assists, respectively, while senior libero Victor Tuminelli came up with nine digs. Christian Smith reinforced the front row on defense with four block assists.
New Paltz received several offensive contributions against Bard, with freshman middle blocker C.J. Borfitz and Jake Roessler leading the way with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Borfitz also worked with an economy of swings, achieving his 15 terminations on just 18 total attempts (.722 hitting percentage). Sophomore setter/defensive specialist Kevin Nardone ran a 5-1 offense and dished out 50 assists, while Tuminelli provided 10 digs. Nardone played solid front-row defense with five total blocks.
No. 9 Carthage 3, St. Xavier 0
KENOSHA, Wis. -- Carthage (6-4, 0-0 Continental Volleyball Conference) won its home opener on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep of St. Xavier (1-10) at Tarble Arena. The Red Men's winning set scores against the Cougars were 25-14, 25-21 and 25-13.
Carthage's Jim Schultz collected a match-high 11 kills with a .238 attack percentage, while J,P. Tulaka had seven kills with a .556 mark and two block solos. Setter Connor Wexter averaged 10.0 assists per set. Sam Kull led St. Xavier with seven kills, three block solos and a block assists.
No. 10 Elmira 3, Brooklyn 1
No. 10 Elmira 3, Carthage
MAHWAH, N.J. -- Elmira (9-4, 2-2 UVC) picked up a pair of wins in the Ramapo Tri-Match on Saturday. The Soaring Eagles took down Brooklyn in the first matchup today 3-1, and then went on to defeat Ramapo 3-2.
Offensively, Erik Griffin led the team in kills with 21 on the day while Mike Ellison and Ryan Gelenitis tallied 17. Michael Vellutato helped out with 77 assists in the two victories.
On the defensive side, Ellison led with 20 digs while Gelenitis finished the afternoon with 15. Rob Shade registered 12 digs while Andrew Johnson totaled six block assists and two solo blocks on the day.
