No. 4 Springfield College Tops Men’s Volleyball, 3-0

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) downed a match-high nine kills, but fourth-ranked Springfield College received eight kills each from Luis Vega (Corozal, Puerto Rico) and Angel Perez (Naranjito, Puerto Rico) and the Pride hit .471 as a team to help spark a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-15) sweep of the Blazers in Wednesday evening's non-conference men's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss Elms moves to 2-8 overall, while Springfield improves to 9-4 on the season.

Rainey led all hitters with nine kills and tied for the match-high in digs with four. Junior middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) followed with five kills, while senior setter Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) and senior opposite hitter Kordel Latimer (Lynn, Mass.) each recorded two kills. Welsh distributed 18 assists in the losing effort.

Springfield was efficient in all phases of the contest hitting .471 behind Vega and Perez who tallied eight kills each. Jimmy O'Leary (Reading Pa.) notched seven kills and Ryan Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y.) added five off the bench for the Pride.

Keaton Pieper (Dallas, Texas) handed out 25 helpers and Luis Garcia Rubio (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) dished out eight assists. Vega tied Rainey for the match-high in digs with four, while Perez, Ryan Malone (Chicopee, Mass.) and Eric Johnson (Tustin, Calif.) dug three balls each. In addition to his three digs and three kills, Malone served up three of Springfield's 10 aces in the winning effort.

After falling behind, 2-0 in the match, Elms secured its first lead of the match in the third set when a Castro kill and two consecutive attacking errors by the Pride allowed the Blazers to take a 3-2 lead. A Blazers service error and a pair of kills by Sean Zuvich (San Pedro, Calif.) and a block assist by Zuvich and Sean Peterson (Norfolk, Va.) put Springfield back on the front foot and it didn't look back.

Elms returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Saturday, February 15 when it travel to Lesley University for a 6:00 p.m. contest.