By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield College women’s volleyball team defeated Babson 3-2 on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Blake Arena. The win gives the Pride an 11-0 conference record and a 24-3 overall record.
In the opening set, the Pride and Beavers clashed, both teams trading blows with each other. Babson built a 12-8 lead, but errors from the Beavers and a kill from Maeve Voltz knotted the game at 12. The Pride led 20-19, but faltered due to a string of errors and lost the set, 25-22.
Set two played out in similar fashion as the first, as both teams never led by more than two. Springfield made a resurgence, climbing up to a 20-15 lead. Kills from Voltz, Riley Donahue and a pair from Oliva Gentry cemented the 25-18 set win for the Pride.
The two titans of the NEWMAC battled closely again in the third set, as the score was tied a total of 12 times. With Babson leading 23-20, first-year outside hitter Olivia Nealy’s thunderous kill and two clutch aces from Morgan Stafford tied the game 23-23. The run was not enough for Springfield to fully complete the comeback, losing 26-24, swinging momentum back to the Beavers.
Nealy stayed hot to open the fourth set, with a quartet of kills giving the Pride a 9-8 lead. Five errors from Babson allowed Springfield to build a 22-14 lead. A kill from Emily Keaveney and a Babson service error made the score 25-18, a win for the Pride.
As the final set of the game loomed on, both teams refused to give up. Natalie Billet scored three of four points to begin the decisive fifth set, and with each Springfield point, the roars and screams of the crowd inside the packed Blake Arena continued to get even louder.
Springfield’s energy quickly took over and they jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Babson however, with the help of a couple of Springfield errors, came storming back to tie the game at 11. From there, Billet took over the rest of the game, with a kill and a block to get the lead back to two, followed by a thunderous, conference-winning kill to secure the win for the Pride.
With the win, Springfield will be officially hosting the NEWMAC playoffs, leaving Springfield head coach Moira Long very proud of her squad.
“It’s just tremendous,” said Long. “It was a great representation of our core values, being fearless and taking it one point at a time.”
Second year outside hitter Emily Keaveney also spoke on hosting the NEWMACS.
“We set goals in the beginning of the season – and this was one of them,” Keaveney said. “Being able to achieve it feels absolutely amazing.”
Keaveney was a big factor in Saturday’s win in the absence of Riley Donahue’s usual production. She came into the game with just 39 kills on the season, but stepped up today, totaling a team-leading and career-high 17, along with three blocks and three digs.
Keaveney credited her performance to the help of her teammates.
“It feels great, but I couldn’t have done it without my team, she said. “Everyone gave it their all today.”
Long was proud of Keaveney’s clutch performance, but wasn’t shocked that it happened.
“She’s been doing this everyday in practice, she comes ready to go and makes us better, and when she gets her opportunities she’s been outstanding,” Long said.
Despite suffering an injury in Tuesday’s sweep over Salve Regina, Donahue was able to get involved and make an impact in the win, although her playing time was severely limited. Long isn’t concerned about the injury, and said that she expects Donahue to be fully healthy tomorrow.
For Springfield, it was their first time finishing on top of the conference regular season standings since the 2018 season, and it also marks just the third time in program history finishing the undefeated in the NEWMAC, and first time since 2008.
The Pride will play their first NEWMAC tournament game on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Blake Arena against an opponent that has yet to be determined.
Photo by Braedan Shea/The Student.