When and where:

February 17, 2024- Springfield, MA

Results:

The St. Joseph's University, New York (L.I.) men's volleyball split a pair of non-conference contests at Springfield College on Saturday evening. The Golden Eagles took down Rivier University 3-1 before falling to #4 Springfield College 3-2.

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 2-3, Rivier, 7-6

Top Performers:

• Senior Mark Williams led all players with 18 kills and finished with six digs 

• Senior Tyler Anderson pitched in with 16 kills and a pair of blocks

• Sophomore Luke MacPherson rounded out the top scorers with 13 kills and five digs

• Senior setter CJ Johnson tossed a game-best 46 assists while picking up seven digs

• Libero Joe Pinner picked up a match-high nine digs

• The Raiders were led by a 15-kill performance by Lucas Borges who added four digs and four blocks

• Sokunbuth Ly pitched in with 11 kills and nine digs

• Setter Neil Rea dished 43 assists 

How it happened:

• Set one was closely played as neither side held a lead larger than three points, 3-0. The Raiders caught the Golden Eagles at 5-5 and it was a point-for-point battle from there. Tied at 23, SJLI got back-to-back kills from Quinn Foglia and Luke MacPherson to secure the 25-23 win

• Rivier led wire-to-wire in the second set hitting .577 as a team and went on to even the match at one with a 25-19 win

• The Golden Eagles swung the match back in their favor when they broke a 10-10 stalemate and went on to claim set three 25-20

• The two sides traded points early on in the fourth frame, but an 8-1 SJLI run midway through the set created a bit of distance, 17-10, for the Golden Eagles to close out the match with a 25-14 set win

  Records:

  St. Joseph's (L.I.), 2-4, Springfield, 11-1

  Top Performers:

• Anderson and freshman Umberto Piscitello led the Golden Eagles with nine kills each with the latter finishing with a total of 12.5 points

• Setter Johnson tossed 28 assists while adding five digs and two kills. 

• Chris Rouleau led the Pride with 17 points, 14 kills and two blocks. 

• Setter Dylan Mulvaney dished 54 assists and libero Ricardo Ortiz picked up 9 digs

  How it happened

•  St. Joseph's battled for their points early in the first set to keep Springfield within reach.  At 11-16, the Pride went on a run to win the match 25-15, giving the Golden Eagles their remaining four points from service errors. 

• The second set was held tight between the two teams. After St. Joseph's tied it up at 8-8, Springfield went on to stack several unanswered points to extend their lead to 19-14. The Golden Eagles held on tight but ultimately the Pride went on to win the set 25-19 giving them a 2-0 match lead 

• Refusing to go down without a fight, St. Joseph's flew out of the gates never letting Springfield take the lead. The Golden Eagles held a 16-12 lead before the Pride rallied back to knot the score at 20. In a nail-biting finish, the Golden Eagles managed to hold off elimination with a 26-24 third-set win

• The Golden Eagles soared with an incredible performance holding the Pride to just 11 points and pushing the match to a decisive fifth set, 25-11. 

• Springfield took the wind from underneath the Golden Eagles with an early lead and secured the 3-2 match win with a 15-8 victory in set five

  Up next:

• The Golden Eagles return to the Danzi Center and host Hunter College on Saturday, February 24th at 12:00 pm.