Raiders fall to #2 Nazareth in NCAA Final Four

(Rochester, NY) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball season came to an end this evening as they fell to the host, Nazareth College in the 2013 NCAA Men's Volleyball Final Four. The scores of the match were 26-24, 25-18 and 25-20. Rivier finishes the season ranked 15th nationally and has an overall record of 27-12. Nazareth, who is ranked 2nd nationally, advances to take on #1 Springfield College in the National Championship game tomorrow at 4pm.

Neither team managed to take more than a one-point lead in the first set until Rivier tallied four consecutive points to transform a 7-6 deficit into a 10-7 lead. The Raiders also had a three-point lead at 19-16 before the Golden Fylers battled back to tie the game at 21. The two teams went back and forth over the next few points until Nazareth was able to get the 26-24 win.

Similar to the first set, the teams traded points to open set two. Trailing 10-9, the Golden Flyers used a four-point spurt to take a 13-10 lead. Nazareth maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the set as they eventually won the second set, 25-18.

In the third set, Nazareth used a 12-5 scoring run to take an 18-11 lead. The Raiders closed to within three points, 19-16, but were not able to threaten the Golden Flyers' lead. Nazareth would get the match point as they walked away with a 25-20 third set win.

Junior Aaron Almario (Alhambra, CA) finished with a team-high 9 kills and sophomore Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA) tallied 8 kills to lead the Raiders. Sophomore Shane Spellman (Norwich, CT) added five kills while junior Terence Matatall (Danville, NH) contributed four kills. Senior setter Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) finished his illustrious Rivier career with three kills and 27 assists in his final game. Junior Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, NY) recorded seven digs to pace the Raider defense.