Springfield, MA --- Springfield hit .375 as a team to upend the WPI volleyball team 3-0 (25-26, 25-17, 25-11) on Tuesday night in the second annual Greg Poole Classic. Poole, a Springfield alum, served as WPI head coach for nine seasons. The result sees the Engineers fall to 9-12 overall, 3-6 in conference play, while the Pride improves to 22-3, 9-0 in the NEWMAC.
 
The Pride hit .318 or better in each set, backed by a solid performance off the arm of Riley Donahue (South Windsor, CT) who racked up 20 kills, hitting .484 in the match. Natalie Billet (Commack, NY) added seven kills and Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, NY) chipped in with six to aid the offense. Tori Colosimo (Fairport, NY) stuffed the stat sheet with 36 assists, eight digs, and five blocks, while Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, PA) tallied a team-high 10 digs.
 
For WPI, Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA) led the squad with six kills, while Lily Eldridge (Danvers, MA) and Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA) each added five. Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) had 14 assists with Eldridge posting eight. Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) led the back line with eight digs.
 
WPI led 2-1 in the first set, but Springfield quickly took control. Two separate 5-0 serving runs had the Pride up eight early. The Springfield lead ballooned to 23-11 before a 5-1 run from WPI. The surge saw the Engineers fight off four set points but a Gentry kill ended the frame for the hosts at 25-16.
 
The teams traded points early in the second set to land on a 4-4 tie but Springfield took control with a 6-1 surge to make it 10-5. WPI answered with a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 11-9, but the Pride rolled ahead with a six-point edge. WPI answered, closing the gap to 17-14, but that was as close as the Engineers would get, as Springfield ended set two by scoring eight of the next 11 points.
 
The Pride offense was firing on all cylinders in the third, hitting .500 to seal the sweep. It stayed close early on, but a 9-2 Springfield run put the hosts firmly in the driver's seat. A 7-1 Pride surge later made it 20-8 and WPI couldn't recover, as SC took it 25-11.
 
WPI is back in action on Saturday hosting Union at 2pm. Springfield also has a non-conference clash next, going to Salve Regina on Tuesday, October 31 for a 7pm match.
 
Box Score