Champions Again! Rivier captures the 2011 GNAC Championship

(Boston, Mass.) The Rivier College Women's Volleyball team captured their 4th Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship today after defeating top ranked Emerson College in five sets.

In a back-and-forth set, it was the Raiders who came out on top in the first set, 25-20. The teams exchanged points to start the match. Back-to-back kills by junior Kenna Finlayson (Derry, NH) and sophomore Nicole Boucher (Windham, NH) gave Rivier a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

Emerson got off to a fast start in the second set as they held a 6-1 advantage. Rivier was able to collect themselves and go on a 12-4 run to take a 13-10 lead. The game was intense and the score tied at 18, the teams traded points before it was Emerson's Megan Kaplon laced one of her 3 kills to give the home team a 2nd set win, 27-25.

Emerson took control of the third set as they jumped out to a 10-3 lead. The Lions were led by Jessica Drumright, who recorded 4 of her 13 kills in the set. Emerson took the set, 25-11 and more importantly the lead at 2 sets to 1.

Needing to win two straight sets to capture the title, Rivier Head Coach Craig Kolek inspired his team. The Raiders, with the support of the 100 students and family members that were in attendance, took the fourth set 25-21 to force a fifth set.

In the fifth set, the teams were even; trading points until Rivier was able to gain a 12-7 lead. Just three points away from defeat the Lions battled back and tied the game at 12. After a kill by Finlayson to make it 14-12, the Raiders captured the GNAC title on an attack error by the Lions.

GNAC Tournament MVP Finlayson paced the Raider offense with 20 kills. Boucher, an All GNAC Tournament selection, had 16 kills while sophomore Nicole Peacock (Warwick, RI) contributed with 10 kills. Peacock was also named to the All GNAC Tournament team. Sophomore Jessica Amaral (East Providence, RI) was the defensive leader with 17 digs. Finlayson also added 8 digs in the win.

In the past 11 seasons, the Raider Women's Volleyball program has reached the GNAC Championship 9 times. They captured the Tournament title now for the 4th time – 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2011. This was the second title for seniors Emileigh Cenedella (Townsend, MA), Lauren Saccoccio (Warwick, RI) and Caitlin Callahan (Dedham, MA).

The Raiders will now advance to the NCAA Regionals. They have awarded the sixth seed in the Postdam (NY) Regional hosted by Clarkson University. On Friday, November 11th, Rivier will take on #3 Skidmore College in a 12:30pm match. The champions of the Liberty League, Skidmore College enters the game with an overall record of 27-8. The other schools in the regional are #1 SUNY-Courtland, #2 Middlebury, #4 Clarkson, #5 Nazareth, #7 Colby-Sawyer and #8 Southern Vermont.