Men's Volleyball: #10 Rivier extends win streak to six with a pair of wins

(Marcy, N.Y.) The tenth-ranked Rivier University Men's Volleyball team extends their winning streak to six games as they complete the three game sweep at the SUNY Polytechnic Invitational this afternoon with a pair of triumphs over Elmira College and SUNY Polytechnic.

The wins move the Raiders' overall record to 9-5 on the season with an important Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest scheduled for tomorrow night in Boston against seventh-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Game One: #10 Rivier University 3, Elmira College 0 (Final)

Rivier kept the training rolling to start the day as they took the three sets from Elmira (5-14 overall) by scores of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-21.

It was one of the better afternoons offensively for Rivier as they powered their way to a .352 team hitting percentage on 34 kills. Junior Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) led the team with thirteen kills and a .524 hitting percentage and senior Ian Wolski (Westfield, Mass.) added seven kills in the win. Senior setter Matt LaSance (Madison, Conn.) directed the attack with 30 assists and supported the defense with twelve digs. Junior libero Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) also had nine digs and Dashaun Graham (Highland Falls, N.Y.) totaled four blocks.

Elmira saw Ryan McDonough net eleven kills and Jeremy Best dish out 24 assists in the loss.

Game Two: #10 Rivier University 3, SUNY Polytechnic 2 (Final)

The best match of the weekend was the final match as the Raiders outlasted SUNY Polytechnic in five sets. Rivier jumped out to a 2-0 lead with scores of 25-18 and 25-19 before the Wildcats surged to knot it a 2 with 25-23 and 25-22 third and fourth set wins. Rivier pulled out the victory in the fifth and decisive set by a slim 15-13 margin.

The offense remained red hot as the Raiders swung at a .473 team hitting percentage over the five sets. Andler and Wolski each knocked down seventeen kills with Andler registering a .500 hitting percentage (Wolski finished with .400 HP). Sophomore Khaynen Yocca (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had a solid finish with a .643 hitting percentage on nine kills and Graham added seven kills and .700 HP in the win. LaSance continued his dominance with 52 assists and Bucklin cleaned up the back line with ten digs. Andler and Graham each totaled four blocks for the Raiders' sixth straight win.

The Wildcats (10-8 overall) were led by Ryan Gloff's seventeen kills while Max Szuba and Connor Schultz chipped in with 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Zach Goggin topped LaSance with 53 helpers and both Brian Malsan and Colin McCabe collected ten digs each.