Springfield/Baruch box
Tournament site
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- First-seed Springfield defeated fourth-seed Baruch in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17) in the first semifinal of the 2011 Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship, hosted by Nazareth College. The Pride will take on the winner of the 8 p.m. semifinal match, which features second-seeded Nazareth and third-seeded Carthage. Baruch will play in the consolation match Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

With the victory, Springfield, tied for first with Nazareth in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, improves to 16-13 overall. The Bearcats, ranked sixth in the AVCA poll, drop to 34-15 overall.

Alberto Bravo and Mike Pelletier had 17 kills and 13 kills, respectively for the Pride. Bravo also finished with a match-high nine digs. Cal Palumbo chipped in 10 kills while Mike Becker finished with 44 assists. Springfield finished with hitting percentages of .333 in the first set, .423 in the second set, and .542 in the fourth set. In the lone set that the Pride dropped, Baruch held Springfield to a hitting percentage of .071.

Eryk Kowalski finished with a team-high 16 kills for the Bearcats while Pablo Oliveira added 12 kills. Oliveira also had eight digs and four assists. Jesus Echevarria tallied 33 assists for Baruch.