By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
The Springfield College women’s volleyball team continued their dominant play as they swept Coast Guard on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at Blake Arena.
This marks the Pride’s (17-1) sixth conference win (6-0) while Coast Guard (13-7) has a conference record of 3-3.
In the opening set, the Pride raced off to a 4-1 lead, set up by kills from Tori Colosimo, Riley Donahue and Maeve Voltz. The strong start allowed Springfield to retain control for the entire set. While the Pride never led by more than five, their high energy kept them in the lead from start to finish, where they won 25-19.
A high energy playstyle has been a key factor in the Pride’s success.
“One of our biggest core values is give, and in order to do that we celebrate big, and then moving forward into the next point,” said Olivia Gentry, a second year player. “For us, having that big celebration helps drive us into that next point and keeps up our energy and high intensity that leads to us playing with more confidence.”
That high intensity would continue onto the second set, where Springfield once again kept the lead for the majority. A kill from Natalie Billet, her sixth of the set, gave the Pride a 25-21 win.
The third set played out similar to the first set, where after starting 5-3, the Pride never allowed a lead change. Despite a late rally by Coast Guard to make the score 23-18, kills from Billet and Donahue won Springfield the set 25-19, and completed the sweep.
The Pride’s defense played a big role in being able to keep big leads against Coast Guard. Billet had nine digs, while Ally Townsend contributed 14 of her own. Townsend spoke on how grit motivates her to be a defensive anchor for the team.
“Being gritty, getting a touch on any of those balls keeps it alive,” Townsend said. “We have trust in our teammates that if you get a touch on that ball, someone else is going to swoop in and make it happen – and we score on a lot of those points.”
Springfield goes on to play three away matches, and then onto the New England Challenge in Williamstown. Springfield coach Moira Long doesn’t see the away stretch as different from a home game, however.
“We’ve not been home very often, so we said to our team in the spring that they need to embrace the challenge and the road warrior mentality,” Long said. “One of our core values is to be gritty and tough so no matter what gym we step into, we have to be ready to go.”
Springfield travels to Amherst College Thursday, October 12, at 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics