Markuson, Raiders split the weekend tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
MIT (14-11) | 19 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
|
Rivier | 25 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sage (16-4) | 17 | 18 | 19 | 0 |
|
Rivier (10-7) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Elms (9-10) | 15 | 23 | 17 | 0 |
|
Rivier (11-7) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kean (14-7) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Rivier (11-8) | 23 | 21 | 22 | 0 |
(Beverly, MA) This past weekend the men's volleyball team traveled to Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts for their March Mania Tournament. On Saturday they defeated both Sage College and Elms College in straight sets 3-0. On Sunday they lost to Kean University 3-0 and nationally rank No. 13 MIT 3-1. Junior Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, NY) was named to the all-tournament team.
In their first match of the weekend the Raiders defeated the Sage Gators in three sets 25-17, 25-18, 25-19. The offense was led by sophomore Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA) who had 16 kills and 2 digs in the match. Freshman Nick Ochoa (Whittier, CA) led the team with 9 digs and senior Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) and junior Terence Matatall (Danville, NH) had 3 blocks. Visentin would also lead the team with 35 assists. Sophomore Shane Spellman (Norwich, CT) added 10 kills of his own.
In their nighttime match against Elms College the Raiders got the easy win in straight sets 25-15, 25-23, 25-17. Markuson again led the team with 9 kills while Matatall and Spellman added eight kills apiece. Visentin paced the offense with 26 assists, four kills, and two digs. Ochoa led the team with 8 digs and Bynon would add 7 in the victory. The Raiders were completely dominant in the match with a .402 hitting percentage, 10 blocks, and 4 aces.
On Sunday morning No. 14 Rivier would face stiff competition losing to Kean University in straight sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-22. For a third straight match 6'5 Chris Markuson led the team with 9 kills in the match. Spellman and Matatall would each have 8 and 7 kills respectively. Bynon added a match high 16 digs and Visentin had a team high 36 assists. The Raiders were hurt by several costly errors but competed closely in all three sets.
In their final match of the weekend against rival No. 13 MIT the Raiders were downed in four sets 25-19, 24-26, 21-25, 24-26. This time Markuson had a weekend high 18 kills and Visentin tallied 45 assists. Matatall had a strong match with 12 kills and 3 blocks and Bynon had a team high 9 digs. Ochoa added 8 digs and Spellman notched 7 kills but MIT edged out the Raiders for the victory.
With the 2-2 record on the weekend the men's volleyball team is now 11-9 on the season and are first in the GNAC. They will return to action on March 16th at home where they will face conference foes Albertus Magnus and Emerson.
