Men's Volleyball drops a road contest at #2 Springfield College

(Springfield, MA) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball team lost in straight sets on the road to #2 Springfield College this evening inside the Blake Arena. The Raiders dropped the sets by scores of 25-13, 26-24 and 25-22.

The match pitted a pair of nationally ranked teams, with the 15th-ranked Raiders dropping to 16-11. This week, Springfield – who improved to 20-3 on the year – was once again ranked No. 2 in the country according to the AVCA National Coaches Poll.

For Rivier, sophomore Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA) led the way with eight kills, and junior Aaron Almario (Alhambria, CA) totaled seven kills and three blocks. Senior Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) handed out 26 assists and had seven digs, and freshman Nick Ochoa (Whittier, CA) highlighted the Raider defense with nine digs of his own.

John Coen had a match-high 10 kills, while Mike Pelletier added nine kills at a .421 clip. Both Jimmy O'Leary and Greg Falcone had eight kills hitting .538, with Falcone posting a match-best five blocks. Mike Becker delivered 36 assists, and Nick Ferry recorded nine digs to lead the defensive effort.

Springfield hit .318 in the match, while Rivier was limited to just a .137 attack percentage. Both teams ranked in the top three in the country in blocks per set, and Springfield owned a slight 9-7 edge in team blocks for the contest.

Rivier will return to the court on Thursday evening when they travel to Wentworth for a 7pm GNAC contest with the Leopards. The Pride will host the Springfield College Invitational this weekend as it hosts Lesley, Rutgers Newark, Southern Vermont, and Sage over Friday and Saturday.