Champions Again! Men's Volleyball earns NCAA bid with GNAC Tournament win

(Nashua, NH) #1 Rivier University successfully defended their GNAC crown with a hard fought 3-1 victory over #2 Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon. Rivier's lone senior Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after leading Rivier to a 3-0 win over #4 Johnson & Wales in the semi-finals and a 3-1 win over #2 Emmanuel in the conference championship. With the win Rivier extends their conference win streak to 34 straight GNAC wins and receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Rivier started off the match with a dominant set 1 led by their defense recording 5.5 blocks to easily defeat Emmanuel 25-13. Junior middle blocker Aaron Almario (Alhambra, CA) paced the Raiders with 1 solo block and 3 block assists while first year player Nick Ochoa (Whittier, CA) scored 2 ace serves in the set.

Emmanuel regrouped and came out unfazed by the 1st game set back and jumped on the Raiders for a 7 point lead at 15-8 thanks to a diverse offensive attack. The Raiders settled in and chipped away at the Saints lead to tie the set at 24 but Emmanuel held on for the 26-24 win. Sophomore outside hitter Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, PA) tallied 5 kills while senior setter Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, CA) directed the offense to a .333 hitting percentage in the set.

Game 3 proved to be different than the first 2 sets as both teams struggled to establish dominance exchanging lead changes early and often. Rivier eventually took control of the set with a .400 hitting percentage outhitting Emmanuel's .280 team percentage. Rivier's sophomore outside hitter Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA) led all attackers in the set with 6 kills while sophomore opposite Ryan Kessler (Santa Clarita, CA) put down 3 kills on just 6 attempts for Emmanuel. The Raiders won the set 25-20 to go up 2-1 in the match.

Emmanuel once again unfazed by the previous loss started off hot in set 4 and led Rivier 17-10. The #1 seed Raiders, not wanting to go to a deciding 5th set, staged a furious comeback to tie up the set 24-24. Both teams traded set points with some impressive and athletic volleys before Rivier's senior setter Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) ended the set and match with a jump serve ace for the 29-27 win.

Emmanuel, who finishes the season with an overall record of 18-15, was paced by senior Updike who registered 38 assists, 8 digs, and 3 blocks while Whitermore and Kessler scored 14 and 10 kills respectively. Sophomore Wyatt Cooper (Ridgefield, CT) hit a match high .500 (7 kills, 12 attempts, 1 error) while sophomore Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, CA) and freshman Ernie Gurule (Los Angeles, CA) combined for 26 digs.

Rivier was led by sophomore outside hitters Markuson and Sam Kazlas (Allentown, PA). Markuson scored a match high 18 kills while Kazlas hit for an impressive .478 (12 kills, 23 attempts, 1 error). Visentin dished out 51 assists leading Rivier to a team .290 hitting percentage while middle hitters Almario and Terry Matatall (Danville, NH) put down 9 kills apiece. Almario finished with a match high 9 blocks. Junior Libero Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, NY) scooped up a match high 21 digs while Ochoa and sophomore Shane Spellman (Norwich, CT) combined for 21 digs as well. Spellman also chipped in with 5 kills and 2 ace serves.

Rivier improves to 26-11 and advances to the NCAA tournament for the 2nd straight season. The Raiders will wait to hear from the NCAA Selection Committee to find out who and when their next opponent will be.

All-Tournament Team

Rivier – Steve Visentin – Most Outstanding Player

Rivier – Aaron Almario

Rivier – Chris Markuson

Emmanuel – Nick Updike

Emmanuel – Ryan Kessler

Johnson & Wales – Shawn Kennedy

Emerson – Alex Frapech