By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
SPRINGFIELD- The Springfield College women’s volleyball team got its revenge against Coast Guard Tuesday night at Blake Arena. The win moved the Pride to 22-6, and advanced the Pride to the semifinals of the NEWMAC Tournament.
The Pride, who were seeded second, fell to seven seed Coast Guard just over a month ago, on Oct. 15.
The match started out in a brawl, as both teams had their sights on gaining the early lead. Springfield and Coast Guard continued to trade points, the score knotted at 9 after Maeve Voltz delivered a slam into the Bears’ frontcourt that erupted the Blake Arena crowd. The Pride broke the tie when Morgan Stafford delivered a service ace to put them up 18-15. A hard fight from Coast Guard wasn’t enough as Springfield won the first set 25-19 after an attack error.
The ace from Stafford was one of many plays she made to put the team ahead of the Bears. Head coach Moira Long was ecstatic by the play of her senior.
“Morgan’s been outstanding all year — and her whole career,” Long said. “She sets a tone for us serving but also she’s digging and passing a ton of balls. She has great leadership on the court and modeling what we’re looking for, steady and consistent and that is what ‘s been really good for us.”
Momentum continued in the Pride’s favor as they started the second set, and a Natalie Billet kill gave them an early five point lead. Coast Guard was able to turn the tide and rally back to tie the score at 11. A kill from Ahunna James put the Pride up 19-16 late in set two. A rocket of a kill from Riley Donahue put Springfield just one set away from advancing.
The Bears battled to start the third set, with the Bears gaining a 9-7 early lead. Two more points left the Pride facing an 11-7 deficit, but after a timeout called by Long, Springfield took over the set and led 18-15. Coast Guard once again battled back and knotted the score at 20. Three strong kills from Voltz and the accompanying roars of the crowd temporarily looked like it was going to turn the set in the Pride’s favor, but the feisty Bears team capitalized on a trio of attack errors from the Pride and kept the match alive by forcing a fourth set.
Looking to recover from last set’s loss, Springfield jumped to an 8-3 lead after Voltz sent a kill into the Blake Arena floor. The Pride continued their pursuit for a semifinal berth, and a Jodi Saelua block pushed the lead 16-10. Saelua continued to deny any chance of the Bears taking over, recording another block to push Springfield’s lead to 24-19. With the crowd on their feet and the victory in sight, Ahunna James clinched the match for the Pride after sending an unreturnable kill into the hands of two Coast Guard defenders.
“It was to be calm and collected,” James said about the game winning kill. “We’ve always talked about being process-oriented so it doesn’t matter what the score is, we’re just trying to get to the last point. No matter what we did in the last three sets, no matter what you did in the first rotation it just matters what you’re going to do right now.”
Stafford was a key player in tonight’s win for Springfield. The senior from Corbett, Oregon served two aces and was a defensive presence for the Pride, returning 12 digs. With MIT’s win over Emerson, the final rounds of the NEWMAC Tournament will be played at MIT. With tonight possibly being her last home game, Stafford will remember Blake Arena fondly. means to her.
“I think it’s always a place that I’ll hold dear,” Stafford said. “I came in as a freshman and to be able to make a difference and play the sport on the court, Blake feels like my home. I love being here all of the time. It’s something that I’ll hold close to me forever.”
Springfield will be traveling to MIT on Saturday to take on Smith in the NEWMAC Championship Semifinals.