By River Mitchell
@rivermitchell27
Springfield College women’s volleyball recognized its seniors on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon. The Pride were unable to put together the performance they were looking for, as they ultimately fell to Brandeis in straight sets, 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-23). Springfield dropped four of its last five to round out the regular season.
Despite the loss, there were some positives for the Pride throughout the game.
Natalie Billet and Olivia Gentry were the offensive catalysts, recording six kills each, while Riley Donahue and Aurissa Boardman chipped in five apiece. Ally Townsend led the team with digs at 10, and Jamie Albrecht and Riley Donahue had six each.
The Pride had no response for Brandeis’ Lara Verstovsek. She dominated the entire game, finishing with 18 kills and six digs – racking up 20.5 points.
Springfield got themselves into some early trouble in the first set, as they quickly racked up four attack errors, which put them in a 8-2 hole. The Pride managed to get very close a couple of times, but they ended up dropping set one by a score of 25-17. The Pride racked up 12 attack errors and four service errors in the first set, and that catapulted the Judges to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set came up, and the Judges picked up right where they left off, as they got a very early kill from Tatiana Wainer. The Pride trailed 12-6 after a violent kill by Sydney Bent.
However, Springfield would start to show some grit and resilience as they managed to close the gap on Brandeis, cutting the lead to only three at 16-13. That would be very short lived, as the Pride lost any momentum they had going and surrendered nine unanswered points to the Judges – who would go on to win set two, 25-13. In the set, the Pride collected 10 more attack errors.
In the third set, the Pride looked to find some source of energy to rally back.. They even managed to take a late lead at one point, going ahead 19-16 late in the frame. With the game tied at 23 and everything on the line, they did everything in their power to expand this game to a fourth set.
But it was Brandeis who scored those two points, as a kill from Verstovsek and an attack error on Kylie Wixted sealed the game.
This was the Pride’s final game of the year, and they will now await the NEWMAC tournament. Springfield finishes the season with a 7-3 conference record, and looks to be successful in the conference tournament with another NCAA Tournament bid on the line.
Photo Courtesy of Springfield Athletics