CAMBRIDGE, Mass., September 24, 2005 - Springfield College senior opposite Ashley Reves (Orchard Park, N.Y.) earned All-Tournament Team honors as the Pride finished fourth at this past weekend's (Sept. 23-24) MIT Invitational in Cambridge, Mass. In three Invitationals in which SC has competed in this season, Reves has been named to the All-Tournament Team in each one.

During the first day of action at MIT, the Pride downed Bates College, 3-0, and then won a close, 3-2 match against Wellesley College. Saturday's matches proved to be much tougher, however, as SC faced two very strong New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponents in Coast Guard and Smith College. Coast Guard defeated SC in the Pride's first match of the day, 3-0, and then in the third-place match, SC fell to Smith by a 3-1 margin.

Despite the loss to Smith in the third-place match, junior libero Leah Hettrick (Meriden, Conn.) set a new school record with an impressive 42 kills in the four-game match, breaking the old mark of 41 set back in 1999 by Robin Chase (10/2/99 vs. MIT). In the four matches this past weekend, Hettrick totaled 108 digs and a 7.20 dig-per-game average.

SC's Reves had a most impressive four-match Invitational at MIT, compiling a total of 56 kills in the tournament for a 3.73 kill-per-game average, including a tournament-best 19-kill performance against Wellesley. Reves also tallied a total of 73 digs, good for a 4.87 dig-per-game mark.

Senior setter Alesia Vaccari (Winsted, Conn.) racked up another 166 assists on the weekend (11.07/game) to lead SC.

The host Engineers of MIT won the Invitational with a 3-0 win over Coast Guard (30-26, 30-22, 30-20) in the Championship match.

After the weekend, SC record now stands at 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). The Pride will next host Clark University in a conference match on Wednesday evening, September 28, in a 7:00 p.m. start.

published: 09/26/2005