Brandon Eckles
Staff Writer
On Saturday September 6, the Springfield College Women’s Volleyball Invitational was held in Blake Arena and for the second consecutive year the Pride came out on top.
En route to the Championship game, Springfield swept through Johnson & Wales and Rivier University. The young, but talented, Amherst College team gave them a fight on Friday night, but the Pride prevailed in five sets.
Much like Friday, the Championship game pitted Amherst College vs. Springfield. Looking to redeem themselves from the five set thriller the night before, the Lady Jeffs came out with a lot of passionand fire.
The first set began with lots of enthusiasm from both sides. Springfield’s communication was on point throughout as the Pride jumped out to an early 12-4 lead paced by an outstanding performances from Kelsey McGayhey, who was named MVP of the Invitational, and Meghan Kinee who had 4 digs through the first set. Springfield was consistent defensively – holding Amherst to only 14 points.
The second set was played at a much different tempo. Amherst came out with more fire and took an early lead. Springfield, however, continued their strong play, keeping the game close.
Coach Long stated after the game that “refocusing the game plan and staying balanced” was the key to the Pride’s success.
The second set was much closer in the final score, but errors down the stretch ultimately cost Amhert the game as they lost 25-20.
In the third set, Springfield stayed in the driver seat, knowing full well that the Lady Jeffs would not roll over easily.
Amherst closed the Pride’s lead to 3 early in the set. A scoring run behind the play of McGayhey put Springfield up 19-12. Then the sideline celebrations began after the second timeout. Jennifer Hurwitz capped off the game with an ace and the final score in Blake was 25-17.
After the match, there was a short ceremony to announce All-Tournament team, runner-ups, and champions. Three Springfield players were given awards. Elise Brogan and Molly Giannattasio were named to the All-Tournament team and Kelsey McGayhey was named Tournament MVP.
Now entering the season 4-0, Coach Long and her team have goals to win to a NEWMAC championship then fight for the national championship.
Next up for the Women’s Volleyball team is the MIT Invitational where they will face off against Connecticut College this Friday, September 12 at 4:30 p.m.
Brandon Eckles can be reached at beckles@springfieldcollege.edu