Springfield Reaches Finals of Molten Championship with Sweep of Carthage
4/16/2010
KENOSHA, Wis. - Carthage College is playing host to the Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship on Friday-Saturday, April 16-17 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
In the second semifinal, Springfield jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first set. Carthage closed to within three, 13-10. The Red Men trailed by one point, 18-17, before the Pride upped their lead to 22-18. Springfield pulled away to a 27-19 edge en route to an eight-point decision, 30-22. In the second set, Carthage had an early 8-7 lead. Springfield went up, 16-11. The Red Men closed to within three, 18-15, before the Pride pulled away to a 27-19 lead, en route to another eight-point win, 30-22. Springfield opened up a 13-8 lead in the third set before Carthage ran off six unanswered points to take a 14-13 lead. The Red Men led, 18-15, when the Pride ran off five-straight points to go up, 20-18. Springfield extended its lead to 23-19. Carthage rallied to pull to within one, 28-27, and again at one, 29-28, before Springfield won the final point for a 30-28 win.
AVCA Division III Player of the Year A.J. Nally led Springfield with 14 kills and a .233 attack percentage (14-7-30). Cal Palumbo had 13 kills and hit .524 (13-2-21) with one block solo and six block assists, while Alberto Bravo also had 13 kills. Matt Wallace (Jr., Plainfield, Ill./Naperville-Neuqua Valley) led the Red Men with 14 kills and a .379 attack percentage (14-3-29), while Randy Hansen (So., Oak Lawn, Ill.) had 10 kills.
courtesy Carthage
