Men's Volleyball Set To Host 20th Annual Hall of Fame Morgan Classic
Volleyball Hall of Fame WebsiteClinic Registration and Ticket Order Form
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., February 8, 2007 - On Friday and Saturday night, February 9th and 10th, the Springfield College men's volleyball team, currently ranked fifth in Division III with a 7-4 overall record, will host Ball State University, Rutgers-Newark, and the University of California, San Diego in the 20th annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic at Blake Arena.
Now in its 20th year of existence, the Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic hosted by Springfield College has become the biggest event for volleyball on the East Coast, and the Pride is the only Division III squad in the country currently hosting a Division I volleyball tournament. Tickets for each night's doubleheader are $5 for adults, and $3 for students and youths. For more information on tickets, please call the Volleyball Hall of Fame at (413) 536-0926.
In the opening night of action (Feb. 9), Ball State will square off against Rutgers-Newark at 6:00 p.m. The host Pride will then take on UCSD at 8:00 p.m. On Saturday night, February 10th, game times will again be at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., with the consolation match first and the championship match scheduled second to cap off the weekend's festivities.
Besides four exciting top-level volleyball matches, this weekend also offers two different clinics; one for players and one for coaches. SC Head Coach Charlie Sullivan, Ball State's Joel Walton, Rutgers-Newark's Sean Byron, and UCSD's Kevin Ring will be in charge of directing the players clinic, as Sullivan will run the coaches clinic. Both clinics start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. with a break for lunch. The cost of each clinic is $50 with a ticket included for Saturday night's consolation and championship action. To sign up for the clinics or to receive more information, please call the Volleyball Hall of Fame at (413) 536-0926.
Springfield College:
Heading into this year's Classic, the Pride has reason to be extremely optimistic. SC has all of its returning players from last season, and with a very strong recruiting class, the Pride has compiled a 7-4 record this year and a national ranking of fifth in Division III. Junior outside hitter Eric Palumbo (Chili, N.Y.), a First-Team American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III All-American last season, has picked up right where he left off last year. Palumbo leads the squad in kills (143, 4.61/game), service aces (15, 0.48/game), and points (166.5).
First-year outside hitter AJ Nally (Rochester, N.Y.) has been a nice addition to the team already this season. Nally has stepped in and contributed immediately, as he is currently second on the team in kills (89, 2.70/game) and first in digs (66, 2.00/game). Sophomore All-American Ryan Fredrickson (Manahawkin, N.J.) has come on strong as of late after a slow start. The opposite has led the team over the past three matches by averaging 13 kills per contest. For the year, Fredrickson is currently fourth on the team with 58 kills (2.76/game).
University of California, San Diego (UCSD):
SC's opponent on Friday night, UCSD, enters this weekend's play with a 3-6 overall record on the season. Jason Spangler leads the Tritons into battle with 123 total kills on the season, good for a 3.84 kill-per-game average. Right behind him is Will Ehrman with 109 kills (3.30/game) on the year. Eric Leserman leads UCSD with an impressive 105 total digs on the season, good for an average of 3.18 digs per game. The Tritons have defeated USC (3-1), Hope International (3-0), and Princeton (3-1) thus far on the season.
Ball State University:
Ball State enters this weekend with a 4-4 overall record on the season. The Cardinals have knocked off Clarke (3-0), the Milwaukee School of Engineering (3-0), Juniata (3-0), and Lewis (3-1) thus far on the year. Ball State is led by Nick Meyer with 115 kills (4.60/game) on the season, as Matt McCarthy and Todd Chamberlain have chipped in with 73 and 71 kills, respectively. Chamberlain is also leading the squad with 60 total digs, good for an average of 2.40 digs per game.
Rutgers-Newark:
Rutgers-Newark is 2-5 on the season with victories over NYU (3-2) and Mercyhurst (3-1). The Scarlet Raiders, who are matched up with Ball State in the first round at 6:00 p.m., are led by Eric Honsberger with a very solid 157 kills (6.04/game) on the season. Mark Hulse leads the team with 12 service aces (0.46/game) thus far on the year, and Jon Keller has compiled a team-high 30 blocks (1.25/game) this season.
Team Links
- 2009 Schedule
- Roster
- 2008 Statistics
- Photo Gallery
- 2008 Recruiting Brochure (.pdf)
- EIVA Website
- Recruit Me!
- CSTV/AVCA Division III Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll
- Live Stats
- Team Archive
Head Coach Charlie Sullivan
With four national championships to his credit, Charlie Sullivan will enter his 11th season as head coach of the men's volleyball team in 2009. In 10 previous years at the helm, Sullivan owns an overall record of 139-114 for a .549 winning percentage. Read more.