Conference News
Springfield Sweeps Endicott
Springfield Sweeps Endicott
Springfield, Mass. - February 17, 2009 - Senior opposite
Ryan Fredrickson recorded his 1,000th career kill
as the No. 1 Springfield College men's volleyball team cruised to a
three-game victory over Endicott on Tuesday evening in
non-conference action. The Pride took the match by the game scores
of 30-23, 30-23, 30-22.
The Pride, which has been ranked the top-team in the country for
the sixth-straight week, improved to 6-6 on the year, while the
Gulls dropped to 13-6. Tonight marked the first time that
Springfield took on a Division III opponent since January 29th's
three-game sweep of Elms.
Fredrickson, who finished with a team-best nine kills, registered
his 1,000th in the third game as his roll shot down the line landed
in. He also added five digs and two blocks in the win. Mark
Ribeiro and Alex Harrison each chipped in
with eight kills, while Andy Sipe posted nine
blocks, including seven block assists. Ribeiro also posted seven
digs, four aces, and three blocks in the win. 10 different members
of Charlie Sullivan's team recorded at least one
kill on the night. Eric Shoemaker and Brad
Seislove combined to hand out 40 assists.
For the visitors, A.J. Witkofsky registered a match-high 13 kills,
while John Emery and James Silva each finished with five kills. Ben
Foster dished out 35 assists for the Gulls, while Dan Coleman added
10 digs. Endicott had trouble with the Pride's serving all night,
as it was aced on nine occasions. For the match, the Pride hit
.323, while the Gulls were limited to a .126 attack percentage.
In the opening frame, with the score tied at 10-all, Springfield
went on a 7-0 run to take control of the first game. With Ribeiro
at the service line, SC opened up a 17-10 lead as it capitalized on
four Endicott attack errors. The visitors fought back, cutting the
Pride's lead to three at 23-20, after a Pride attack error. Hoever,
SC was too strong down the stretch as it used three consecutive
kills from Cal Palumbo, Ribeiro, and Jeff
Gutmann to win the first game, 30-23. Palumbo was
unstoppable as he connected for four kills on five swings in the
first game.
Endicott battled to a 14-12 lead in the second game after a James
Silva ace, only to have Springfield answer with a 6-0 run. Once
again, the Gulls' errors proved costly as they committed four
hitting errors in the stretch, giving Springfield an 18-14 lead.
The visitors would not go away as three straight kills, including
two from Witkofsky, brought Endicott right back into the match as
they trailed by just one, 18-17. From that point on, Springfield's
block shut down the Gull attack as Sipe and Ribeiro combined for a
pair of double blocks and Sipe added a solo stuff to put SC in
control en route to the 30-23 win. Springfield recorded eight team
blocks in the frame.
In the third and final game, Springfield lead by as many as 12 as
it cruised to the 30-22 victory. The home squad finished with 16
kills in the set and committed just four errors as it finished
hitting .364 for the game. Guttmann continued to produce off the
bench as he notched four kills in the stanza.











