No. 3 Springfield College Topples No. 11 NYU for Seventh Straight IVHF Morgan Classic Title

The Springfield College men's volleyball team won the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic Championship on Saturday night in a straight-set victory over nationally-ranked NYU.  

Springfield, which was ranked third in the latest AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, improved to 10-1 on the season.  Appearing in its 11th-straight Morgan Classic Championship match, this marks the eighth time, and seventh straight time that Springfield has been crowned the champion. 
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For the second-straight year, Jarrett Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) was named the Most Outstanding Player as he produced a team-best 11 kills on a .423 hitting percentage to go along with 10 digs, four aces and two blocks.  Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) had 32 assists in helping the Pride hit .427 and Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) added seven kills and two blocks in the middle as the duo also earned All-Tournament Team honors. 

The weekend also featured #15 Rutgers-Newark and MIT who faced off in the consolation match with Rutgers-Newark emerging with the 3 set sweep.

The Classic Weekend began, as it traditionally does, with a welcoming luncheon at the IVHF Museum where the teams had an opportunity to tour the Museum, learn more about the historic tournament, and hear remarks from each coach.  

MIT head coach Todd Elwell shared the impact the Morgan Classic has not only on the participating teams but the associated clinic participants as well.

"You're going to be a light for somebody at the players clinic. You are going to say or do something that inspires someone." Elwell noted. "There are a lot of eyes on you and it is up to you to honor the game in how you handle the clinic, how you handle the match."

On Friday night, Blake Arena was full of cheers at 6:00 pm when Springfield took on MIT in the opening match.  Springfield dominated in a 3-0 sweep. At 8:00 pm, Rutgers-Newark took on NYU in a back-and-forth battle with NYU winning in 4 sets.

Saturday was another action-packed day starting with the coach's and player's clinics. 80 participants of all ages and experience levels came to learn from the top coaches, Charlie Sullivan (Springfield), Jose Pina (NYU), Aidan Albrecht (Rutgers-Newark), and Todd Elwell (MIT) in clinics led by their teams. Area players and coaches spent the morning and afternoon learning and growing their skills. 

2023 Morgan Classic All-Tournament Team:

MIT - Kevin Windish
Rutgers-Newark - Daniel Quay
NYU - Gautham Dasari
NYU - Lucas Osiecki
Springfield - Dylan Mulvaney
Springfield - Chris Rouleau 
Springfield - Jarrett Anderson (MOP)