SPRINGFIELD, MA—Springfield blew open what was a close match through the first two sets, pulling away from visiting NJIT in the last two frames for a 3-1 men's volleyball victory Saturday afternoon in Blake Arena.
Visiting NJIT won the first set, 26-24, but Springfield got even with a 27-25 victory in the second set. The Pride went on to win 25-18 and 25-16 in the third and fourth sets to secure the win.
Springfield, the 3-time defending Division III national champion, is ranked fourth in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III National Coaches Poll. The Pride have won their last nine to improve to 23-6 on the year while the Highlanders drop to 9-11 on the season. Springfield will wait with hopes of earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Championship.
Junior right side Greg Woods led the Pride offensively with a match-best 22 kills followed by Angel Perez (15) and Ricardo Padilla (10). Woods combined for a .486 hitting percentage on 37 attempts with four errors while Perez recorded a .542 hitting percentage on 24 swings with just two errors.
Setter Keaton Pieper led the match with 49 assists while four Pride recorded an ace each edging NJIT, 4-2, in that category. Perez added a match-high 9 digs followed by Woods (8) and Ryan Malone (6). Joseth Irizarry finished with a match-best seven blocks (all assists).
NJIT's leader with 13 kills was sophomore
Jabarry Goodridge. Redshirt junior
TJ Jurko had 12 kills while
Ryan Thomas and
Chris Kaepernick added 6 each.
Zak Robben produced 37 of the team's 39 assists and led the Highlanders in the digs category with five.
The total team blocking was tight with Springfield edging NJIT, 10.5-to-10. Redshirt sophomore
Luke Robbe paced NJIT in front of the net with five total blocks (all assists) closely followed by Thomas and Kaepernick with four assists.
The opening set, won by NJIT, was close throughout, with 7 ties. The last tie was at 24-24 after a kill by Springfield's Irizarry. After a Pride error and block from Thomas and Kaepernick, the Highlanders took the set 26-24.
In the second frame, the Highlanders held the upper hand after 11 ties and three lead changes. With the score knotted at 24 the visitors went ahead, 25-24, on a Springfield hitting error but the Pride recorded three straight kills taking the frame, 27-25.
The Pride started the third frame with a 6-4 lead and later extended to a 16-13 advantage. Springfield produced 16 kills on 19 swings with no errors for an impressive .842 hitting percentage securing the win, 25-18.
The final frame saw six ties and three lead changes. With the Highlanders ahead, 5-4, Springfield used a 6-3 run pushing ahead 11-7 on a block by Pieper. NJIT answered with three consecutive points pulling within two, 11-10, on blocks by Robbe and Jurko.
The Pride used a 12-4 run to gain control of the frame, 23-14, and never looked back sealing the match with a 25-15 victory.
NJIT will visit neighboring Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday at 7pm in the Golden Dome. The match, which was originally scheduled for January 27, was postponed due to Winter Storm Juno approaching the Northeast.
