Springfield takes first conference loss, moves to 1-1 in NEWMAC play
By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
SPRINGFIELD- The Springfield College women’s volleyball team squandered a loss to MIT on Saturday Sept. 28 at Blake Arena. The loss moves the Pride to 7-4.
Springfield and MIT squared off against each other in a rematch of the 2023 NEWMAC Championship, where the Engineers reverse swept the Pride to win their third straight tournament title. MIT started out on top in this matchup, leading 9-6 and eventually building that lead to 19-12. The Pride couldn’t mount a comeback, losing the first set 25-14.
Springfield shook off the loss quickly, exploding to a 4-0 lead in the second set after a pair of thunderous Riley Donahue kills. With an energized Blake Arena crowd by their side – the first time the Pride have been home since the campus moved in over three weeks ago – MIT head coach Paul Dill was forced to take a timeout. It became Springfield’s set to lose.
And unfortunately, with a program that has risen to No.6 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Polls on the other side of the net, a quick start was not enough by itself to win the match for the Pride.
MIT quickly shrunk the lead to 12-10, both teams throwing haymakers to swing the momentum back into their favor. The Engineers knotted the score at 17, later pushing that lead by two. Springfield’s hot start in set two wasn’t enough, as the Pride never regained the lead, fizzling out and losing the set 25-21.
Looking to avoid the sweep to last year’s NEWMAC champs, Springfield was in dire need of another hot start. Though the Engineers led the third set, the Pride were right there in pursuit, down 9-8. The Pride clawed their way against the Engineers, tying the set at 15-15 thanks to a huge Tori Colosimo kill. But MIT eventually pried away to a 23-19 lead, later winning the set 25-21, completing the sweep and holding on to their undefeated record.
Though the final result may tell a different story, the Pride managed to keep the game close in all but one set. When the ball was put into play, Springfield was neck-and-neck with MIT. It was putting and keeping the ball in play that was an issue. Errors prevented Springfield from being able to take over the game, as the team had 20 attacking, three blocking and eight reception errors.
Though the Pride returned a lot of their players from last year’s squad, there have been a couple new faces. Both Ahunna James and Kristen DeLorenzo transferred to Springfield during the off-season, James from Southern Connecticut State and DeLorenzo from Stonehill. Both transfers played well for the Pride today, as James had 8 kills and DeLorenzo dove for 11 digs. Springfield coach Moira Long spoke about how well the two are shaping into part of the team.
“Our program has high expectations,” Long said. “I think they’ve done a good job of molding into Springfield College volleyball versus their last institutions.” Long described James as a bright spot of today’s game.
Along with kills, James led the team in blocks and points. As for the season she’s fourth on the team in kills, and third in digs and blocks.
“I thought Ahunna James was outstanding,” Long said. “I thought she had great defense, she gave to our team, and offensively she got the ball. All around she was good.”
Springfield will look to bounce back at Clark University this upcoming Tuesday, Oct. 1st, at 7 p.m.