By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield College women’s volleyball team rallied back from a tough first set to beat Coast Guard in four sets. The Pride are now 18-2 and 6-0 at home, and currently riding a whopping 15 game win streak.
Springfield started set one in a pinch, scoring the first point but soon after allowed six unanswered points to Coast Guard. Troubles continued for the Pride when the Bears extended their lead by nine. Springfield’s young core, led by Aubrey Hughes and Avery Chandler, provided a small spark for the team, scoring five of six points late into the set, but Coast Guard ultimately snuffed their fire out and won the set easily 25-12.
Head coach Moira Long was disappointed with what she saw from her team in the opening set.
“We were super hesitant,” Long said. “We were waiting to see what happened instead of being aggressive and going to get it. It felt like we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. We didn’t get the opportunity to serve the ball because we couldn’t get out of rotation, so it was pretty ugly from start to finish.”
The second set started off better for the Pride, albeit still in a battle with the Bears. Springfield went up by three after a kill from Hughes and an ace from junior Tori Colosimo, but Coast Guard forced a pair of errors from the Pride to knot the score at 12. After this, the dormant Springfield offense woke up, as junior Jodi Saelua tacked on three kills to build a 23-17 lead. Back to back aces from Colosimo ended the set in favor of the Pride, tying the match 1-1.
Set three started the same as the one prior, with both teams in a fight to take the match lead. A pair of kills from Hughes gave Springfield a 14-11 lead, until the Bears leapt back to tie the score. In the late stages of the set, the Pride led by one. A fake pass from Colosimo that caught Coast Guard off-guard for a kill started a rally by Springfield that won it the set, 25-21.
With match point on the horizon, the Pride took the court for set four. Springfield continued to build small leads that Coast Guard swiftly caught up to, a growing theme of the match as there were a total of 19 tie scores. The Pride once again took the lead after Emily Keaveney slammed a thunderous kill to set the score at 17-14. Numerous errors from the Bears and pairs of kills from Hughes and Ahunna James clinched the set and match win for Springfield.
The Pride’s win over Coast Guard gives the team its 18th win of the season, and adds to their undefeated record at home. Hughes was an all-around force for Springfield, notching 12 kills, three aces and six total blocks.
“Aubrey’s so fun to watch,” Long said. “She’s so happy and she’ll make adjustments. I think she’s grown a lot since her first match, so it’s her improvement on a day to day basis that we’re excited to see.”
The Pride travel for a NEWMAC titan clash against MIT on Saturday. Both squads are 6-0 in conference play, with their upcoming match having huge NEWMAC tournament implications.