Men's Volleyball: Raiders fall to visiting MIT in 2019 home opener

Story written by: Anthony Perry, Rivier University Sports Information Director

(Nashua, N.H.) It was the home opener of the 2019 season for the Rivier University Men's Volleyball this evening as they hosted Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a non-conference affair inside the Muldoon Gymnasium. After taking the first set, the Raiders (0-4 overall) ultimately fell in four sets to the Engineers (5-0).

The set scores were 21-25, 25-12, 27-25 and 25-15 in favor of the visitors.

Rivier was guided by the efforts of senior Dashaun Graham (Highland Falls, N.Y.) who led the team with nine kills and two block solos. Junior Cam Roth (Coventry, R.I.) had an all-around solid night as he swung at a .312 clip on six kills while scooping up 17 digs. Classmate Pedro Campos (Downey, Calif.) also notched double-figures with 10 digs while directing the offense amassing 36 assists. Freshman Jack Normandin (Clifton Park, N.Y.) chipped in with a six-kill showing in his first game on the Muldoon court.

MIT saw three of their student-athletes record double-digit nights offensively as junior Thomas Nelson (San Ramon, Calif.), freshman Tommy Ogeka (Manorville, N.Y.) and senior Skyler Kaufman (Needham, Mass.) finished with 16, 10 and 10 kills, respectively. Nelson totaled a .375 hitting percentage while Ogeka complied a .348 hitting percentage compared to Kaufman's .304 hitting percentage. Senior setter Yize Dong (Moraga, Calif.) dished out a game-high 41 helpers on the evening while junior Colton Stearns (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) patrolled the backline picking up 19 digs.

The Raiders will look to rebound next week as they host Emmanuel College on Thursday (2/7) night in the first Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest of the season. Game time is set for 7pm. MIT will also have a lengthy layoff as they travel to New York University on Friday, February 8th in their next scheduled contest.