Springfield Tops Carthage, Advances to Molten Final

Bill Kauffman April 16, 2010

Carthage Athletics contributed to story

KENOSHA, Wis. (April 16, 2010) - Springfield (18-10) defeated host Carthage (20-12) 30-22, 30-22, 30-28 in the second semifinal of the 2010 Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship Friday evening in Kenosha, Wis.

Springfield, seeded second in the four-team tournament, will attempt to win its sixth Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship on Saturday as it takes on top-seed UC Santa Cruz at 8 p.m. CDT. UC Santa Cruz (15-6), which has never won the event in its four previous appearances (best was second place in 2006), topped Nazareth earlier on Friday in the first semifinal. The consolation match will have third-seed Carthage facing fourth-seed Nazareth (19-15) at 5 p.m. CDT on Saturday.

Cal Palmbo paced Springfield with 13 kills on a .524 hitting efficiency (13-2-21) while picking up a team-high seven blocks. AJ Nally totaled a match-high 14 kills in the victory while adding nine digs and four blocks. Alberto Bravo chipped in 13 kills and three aces for 16 total points. Eric Shoemaker set 46 assists and collected three kills on five swings to go with seven total blocks.Alex Harrison provided the Pride with a match-high 16 digs.

Carthage's Matt Wallace scored a team-high 14 kills while hitting .379 (14-3-29) on the night with two block assists. Randy Hansen contributed 10 kills, an ace, one block solo and a team-high nine digs. John Condon was credited with 35 assists for Carthage.

Springfield jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first set, but Carthage closed to within three at 13-10. The Red Men trailed by one point at 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 before Springfield caught fire and went up 16-11 on a 9-3 scoring spurt. The Red Men closed to within three at 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, but needed to fend off one last Carthage rally as it moved to within one at 28-27. The teams traded the final three points yielding a 30-27 victory for Springfield.

For more information on the Molten Division III Men's Invitational Championship, click here for Carthage's event page. All matches of the tournament are being streamed on the Web at www.carthage.edu/ais/webcast/streaming2.html.

Now in its 14th year, the Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship was formed due to a need for a culminating event for NCAA Division III men’s volleyball. While the NCAA sponsors a national championship for men’s volleyball, programs from all three divisions compete for just four berths in the yearly tournament. In the 40-year history of the NCAA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship, no Division III program has earned a berth or been selected to participate in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship.

Molten U.S.A., Inc. is the “Official Volleyball of the Division III Men’s Invitational Volleyball Championship.” Sports Imports is the “Official Net System Supplier of the Division III Men’s Invitational Volleyball Championship.” Mizuno USA is the “Official Apparel & Shoe Sponsor of the Division III Men’s Invitational Volleyball Championship.”

Tournament History with Final Placing:
2009: 1. Juniata; 2. Stevens; 3. UC Santa Cruz; 4. Ramapo (hosted by Ramapo)
2008: 1. Springfield; 2. Vassar; 3. UC Santa Cruz; 4. Juniata (hosted by Springfield)
2007: 1. Juniata; 2. Carthage; 3. Springfield; 4. Stevens (hosted by Juniata)
2006: 1. Juniata; 2. UC Santa Cruz; 3. Stevens; 4. Rivier (hosted by Stevens)
2005: 1. Juniata; 2. Carthage; 3. Stevens; 4. Medaille (hosted by Stevens)
2004: 1. Juniata; 2. Medaille; 3. UC Santa Cruz; 4. Eastern Mennonite (hosted by Eastern Mennonite)
2003: 1. Springfield; 2. Juniata; 3. La Verne; 4. Stevens (hosted by Juniata)
2002: 1. Springfield; 2. La Verne; 3. NYU; 4. Lehman (hosted by NYU)
2001: 1. Springfield; 2. D’Youville; 3. Clarke; 4. Vassar (hosted by Springfield)
2000: 1. UC San Diego; 2. NYU; 3. D’Youville; 4. Stevens (hosted by Stevens)
1999: 1. La Verne; 2. D’Youville; 3. Clarke; 4. Juniata (hosted by Clarke)
1998: 1. Juniata; 2. La Verne; 3. Springfield; 4. Eastern Mennonite (hosted by Springfield)
1997: 1. Springfield; 2. NJIT; 3. Juniata; 4. UC San Diego (hosted by Juniata)