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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Top-ranked Springfield defeated second-ranked Nazareth in three sets in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship on Sunday afternoon at Nazareth. The match scores were 25-18, 25-13, 25-22. Senior EJ Wells-Spicer had 18 assists to break the Golden Flyers' all-time career assist mark of former standout Frank Leahy who had 4,753 assists. Wells-Spicer finishes his career with 4,762 career assists.

Wells-Spicer and sophomore Luke Lawatsch earned all-tournament honors for the Golden Flyers.

With the loss, Nazareth finishes the season with a 36-2 overall record. It is the most wins in one season in the Golden Flyers' nine-year program.The Pride finish the season with a 32-3 overall record.

The Golden Flyers and Pride traded points to open the match in the first set. Nazareth led 10-9 following a Springfield service error. Following the error, the Pride tallied five consecutive points to take a 14-10 lead. Springfield used a Nazareth service error, two kills, a block, and service ace to take the lead.

Nazareth closed to within one point, 15-14, after a kill by sophomore Brody Cord and attack errors by the Pride, however a kill by Mike Pelletier maintained Springfield's lead. The Pride finished the set with a 10-4 scoring run.

Springfield finished the set with 15 kills and four errors for a .423 hitting percentage. Nazareth recorded nine kills and five errors for a .167 hitting percentage in the first set.

In the second set, the Pride scored the first four points following three attack errors by the Golden Flyers. Nazareth recorded seven attack errors and only five kills in the set to allow Springfield's lead to increase. After trailing 16-7, the Golden Flyers scored three straight points following a Springfield error, an ace by senior Robert Kraft and an ace by freshman Grant Levermore. The Pride used another scoring run to close the set.

The Golden Flyers maintained a slim edge through much of the third set, and they stretched their lead to three points, 17-14. The lead was provided by an ace by sophomore Luke Lawatsch, a kill by Kraft, and two Springfield errors. The Pride answered with the next three points to tie the set. The set stayed within two points until the final kill.

Nazareth believed they had taken a 23-21 lead on a Springfield hitting error, however, the initial call was overturned. It was ruled a Golden Flyer had deflected the ball before it had gone out of play, which tied the match. The Pride took the lead on a kill by Luis Vega, then scored the final two points to claim the victory. The Golden Flyers finished with 12 kills and four hitting errors in the third set for a .267 attack percentage.

Lawatsch finished with a team-high eight kills and had no errors for a .667 attack percentage. Kraft finished with five kills and freshman Tim Zyburt had four kills. Cord and freshman Grant Levermore each added three kills while senior Alex Houghtalen and freshman Bobby Beeman recorded two kills and one kill, respectively. Senior Connor Ecklund had six assists to help Wells-Spicer direct the Nazareth offense.

Defensively, Wells-Spicer finished with a team-high six digs and Lawatsch had a match-high four assisted blocks. Levermore and sophomore Nick McDonagh each had two assisted blocks.

Pelletier and Vega each had 13 kills for the Pride while Keaton Pieper tallied 33 assists. Nick Ferry had seven digs while John Coen and Greg Falcone each had three assisted blocks. Vega was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player while Falcone and Ferry were each recognized on the all-tournament team.