Raiders finish 2nd in 8th annual MIT Invitational

(Cambridge, MA) The nationally ranked #9 Rivier College Raider Men's Volleyball team finished in second place after the conclusion of the 8th annual MIT Invitational this weekend.

In the first day of competition, the Raiders defeated Stevenson University in four sets before earning a tough sweep of Elms College. The second set in the Elms contest was a marathon that Rivier won by a 33-31 final. Sophomore Aaron Almario (Alhambria, CA) led the team with 25 kills over the 7 sets played. Freshman Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA)was a few behind Almario as the rookie outside hitter laced 22 total kills. Sophomore Terrance Matatall (Danville, NH) contributed with 12 kills in the Elms game and senior Alex Xenidis (Shelton, CT) had 8 kills in the Stevenson match.

On day two, the Raiders came out and took care of business against Endicott College as they swept them easily (25-10, 25-18, 25-17) to advance to the championship game. Awaiting Rivier was host and nationally ranked #5 MIT. The Engineers dominated the game as they took the three straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 25-22. MIT captured the title for the fifth time in the eight year history of the Invitational.

For their efforts, Almario and senior libero Chris Convertito (Trumbull, CT) were named to the All-Tournament team.