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Posted: Jan 29, 2009

Men's Volleyball Held Off At No. 1 Springfield, 3-0

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL HELD OFF AT NO. 1 SPRINGFIELD, 3-0

SPRINGFIELD, MA, Jan. 30, 2009 - Elms College sophomore outside hitter Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) banged out a match-high 14 kills, but No. 1 Springfield College staved off four game points in the second set to eventually pull away to a hard-fought 3-0 (33-31, 39-37, 30-18) over the Blazers in Thursday night's non-conference men's volleyball match at Blake Arena.

The Pride, currently the top-ranked team in the latest Bison/AVCA Division III Top 15 Coaches Poll, improved to 4-0 on the season. Elms College fell to 2-5.

Springfield appeared in control of the opening set as it owned a 19-11 lead after a Blazers' attack error. However, as would be the case the entire match, the scrappy, resilient Elms College squad would not go away. The Blazers got right back in the game as they cut the lead to one, 20-19, after three-straight Pride attack errors . After knotting the game at 25 all, Springfield grabbed a three-point lead at 28-25 after another Elms College error, only to have the visitors come back and force extra points. After another Blazers' error made it 32-31, Eric Shoemaker and Cal Palumbo teamed up for a double block to give the home Pride the first-game victory. Springfield  totaled 11 block assists in the first game alone and held the visitors to a .064 hitting percentage.

Springfield was once again in control of the second frame as it opened up a 20-11 lead. Elms stormed back, using an 11-3 run to come within one, 23-22, capped off by a Pride attack error. With the second set also needing extra points to decide a winner, Springfield staved off four match points for Elms to eventually take the marathon set, 39-37. Once again the Pride block came up when it counted as a triple block from Andy Sipe, AJ Nally, and Ryan Fredrickson shut the door on the set. Neither team hit the ball efficiently in the frame as Elms hit just .034, while the Pride hit .107.

In the final set, the Pride raced out to a 7-2 lead, fueled by a pair of aces from Pete Manguiat, forcing an Elms College timeout. The home squad's lead ballooned to seven at 20-13 after a Nally kill, forcing yet another Elms College timeout. Springfield finished off the game on a 10-5 run, capped off by a Shoemaker ace en route to the three-game sweep.

Palumbo was a standout with 10 kills, hitting .316 to go along with seven block assists and two solo stuffs. Fredrickson finished with a team-best 13 kills to go along with six blocks of his own, while Nally tacked on 10 kills and nine digs. Bob Waters was solid on the defensive end with a team-best 12 digs. Shoemaker continued his strong play with 44 assists, seven digs, and seven blocks. Sipe also posted eight blocks as the Pride finished with 20 team blocks.

For the Blazers, freshman outside hitter Sequiel Sanchez Velez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added 13 kills and 14 digs, junior setter Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico) posted 34 assists, four blocks, and eight digs, sophomore outside hitter Carlos DeLeon-Gomez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) tacked on 10 kills and 11 digs, while freshman middle hitter Vincent Cruz (Harwinton, CT) added a team-best eight blocks.