Men's Volleyball: Rivier sweeps their way to a pair of GNAC wins

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball team swept a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference contests this afternoon as they improved to 14-8 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The Raiders were victorious in straight sets over Mount Ida College in the day's opening match before wrapping up with a quick three set win over Emmanuel. The Saints defeated the Mustangs in the middle of the GNAC Tri-Match at the Muldoon Gymnasium.

Game One: Rivier University 3, Mount Ida College 0 (Final)

Rivier jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back as they won the three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-15.

The Raiders hit .385 as a team in the match led by freshman David Smith (Clinton, Ohio) who recorded a .636 hitting percentage on seven kills. Sophomore Nathan Kunkel (Plum Borough, Pa.) also hammered down seven kills while both freshman Danny Sciolaro (Wayne, N.J.) and sophomore Dashaun Graham (Highland Falls, N.Y.) added six each. Senior Matt LaSance (Madison, Conn.) handed out 18 assists while registering a .635 hitting percentage – five kills – and Sciolaro added 13 helpers of his own. On the defensive side of the net, Smith and sophomore Dahnny Rogers (Penfield, N.Y. ) each led the team with six digs and Graham finished with three total blocks.

Mount Ida sophomore Nate Gyampo (Providence, R.I.) led the offensive effort with six kills and classmate Brett Southworth (Orange, Conn.) added five of his own. Sophomore setter Nathan Sprengle (Williamstown, N.J.) totaled 16 assists and senior Peter Griffinkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) tallied four digs.

Game Two: Emmanuel College 3, Mount Ida College 0 (Final)

The middle match saw Emmanuel College take a three-set victory from Mount Ida by scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 25-19.

Sophomore Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) was the top scorer for the Saints as he collected eleven kills and 15 digs, both match highs. Freshmen Max Gottuso (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Manuel Velez (San Jose, Costa Rica) added seven each in the win. Freshman Seamus McDonagh (Long Beach, N.Y.) directed the offense with 33 assists and fellow rookie Justyn Schueler (Trumbull, Conn.) was a wall along the net with five total blocks.

Griffenkranz paced the Mustangs with five kills and eight digs. Sophomore Tyler Shinkle (West Deptford, N.J.) contributed with three total blocks and freshman Nelson Leadbetter (Athol, Mass.) picked up five digs.

Game Three: Rivier University 3, Emmanuel College 0 (Final)

The Raiders earned their third straight win as they dispatched Emmanuel College in straight sets to close out the GNAC Tri-Match inside the Muldoon Gymnasium. Rivier took the three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-22.

Senior Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.H.) guided the Rivier offense to a .371 team hitting percentage as he dished out 35 assists on the afternoon and classmate Ian Wolski (Westfield, Mass.) knocked down 12 winners and a .500 hitting percentage. Also shining bright for the Raiders was junior Matt Heckler (Simi Valley, Calif.) as he provided seven kills and four total blocks. Junior Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) collected nine digs, six kills and four total blocks for Rivier and junior libero Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) amassed 12 digs to finish the day.

Sophomore Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.) was the team leader for the Saints as he ended the afternoon with nine kills while classmate Alex Silva (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) laced five kills. McDonagh handed out 19 assists and sophomore Elijah Parks (Long Beach, N.Y.) led the defense with eight digs.

Rivier will return to action on Tuesday evening when they travel to Providence, Rhode Island for a date with Johnson & Wales University. Game time is set for 7pm at the Wildcat Center. Mount Ida and Emmanuel will also be in action on Tuesday evening as the Mustangs host #12 Lasell College in a GNAC matchup and the Saints will entertain #1 Springfield College.