Women's Volleyball Posts A Pair of Wins In Opening Night of Kean Invitational

Union, New Jersey - The Springfield College women's volleyball team opened up the Kean Invitational with a pair of victories on Friday evening.  The Pride grinded out a five-set win over Trine before besting host Kean in four sets.

The Pride, which is currently ranked fourth in New England in the latest New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) Poll, is now 15-2.

Springfield will play two more matches today, Saturday when it plays Olivet at 12:00 pm and Frostburg State at 2:00 pm.

Springfield 3, Trine 2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-7)

Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) led all players with 14 kills, hitting at a .444 clip, to go along with a match-best nine blocks in the Pride's first win of the evening.  Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.) produced a career-best 12 kills, and Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) delivered 11 kills and seven blocks while hitting .500 on the right side.

Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) and Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) combined for 49 assists in helping Springfield, which entered the night with the nation's best hitting percentage, to a .250 team hitting percentage.  Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif.) was credited with a career-high 19 digs and Elise Brogan (Andover, Mass.) chipped in seven kills and five blocks.

The Pride finished the evening with a season-best 15.0 team blocks.  After Trine forced a fifth and decisive set, Springfield's offense was unstoppable, totaling eight kills on 12 errorless swings en route to the five-set win.

Springfield, Kean (25-20, 20-25, 25-14, 25-12)
Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) posted a double-double as she registered 13 digs and a season-best 12 kills on a .500 hitting percentage to lead Springfield to a win over the Cougars. Mawdsley set a new career-high for digs as she was credited with 17, as she and Giannattasio combined for 32 assists.

Helgesen continued her strong play with 10 kills and three blocks, hitting .348, while McGayhey added nine kills and three blocks of her own.  Both Holt and Brogan recorded four blocks each, with Holt chipped in seven kills and a pair of aces.

Springfield hit .265 in the victory, including a .417 performance in the third set.