Women's Volleyball takes two as McCormack makes history

(Nashua, N.H.) Senior outside hitter Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) became the first student-athlete in Rivier Volleyball History to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs this morning as the Rivier University Women's Volleyball team took two important Great Northeast Athletic Conference contests from the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Albertus Magnus College.

McCormack, who entered the day just two kills shy of 1,000, hammered down the final two she needed in the first set against Saint Joseph. She becomes just the fifth Women's Volleyball student-athlete to reach the 1,000 kill milestone joining fellow Rivier Women's Volleyball legends Nicole Peacock '14, Kenna Finlayson '13, Nicole Hersey '09 and Kori Chace '08. McCormack notched her 1,000 career dig earlier this season back on September 9th.

McCormack also becomes the second student-athlete in the 21-year history of the GNAC to reach the 1000-1000 club. Johnson & Wales' AnneMaire Proto was the first student-athlete to reach the illustrious mark back in 2007.

Game One: Rivier University 3, University of Saint Joseph – Conn. 0 (Final)

Aside from McCormack obtaining her 1,000th kill, the Raiders secured their 12th straight season of at least 20 wins as they defeated the visiting Blue Jays in straight sets. Rivier took the first two sets with ease (25-11, 25-13) before overcoming a 23-18 deficit to win the third set 26-24.

McCormack finished the match with six kills and four digs while fellow senior Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) knocked down 11 kills to lead the team. Senior Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) also contributed in the win as she totaled eight kills and a .500 hitting percentage in only two sets played. Sophomore Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and senior Ally Stefanovski (Rochester, N.Y.) shared the setting duties as they dished out 18 and 13 assists, respectively. Stefanovski also led the team along the back line with seven digs and both freshmen Jillian Boyle (North Andover, Mass.) and Taylor Dunster (Sutton, Mass.) each registered six digs apiece.

The Blue Jays had a solid effort out of freshman Jasmine Buckley (Beacon, N.Y.), who led the team with seven kills and nine digs. Sophomore setter Brenna Miller (McCleary, Wash.) passed out 17 assists while picking up seven digs and freshman libero Demetria Eiger (Phoenix, Ariz.) also notched seven digs in the loss.

Game Two: University of Saint Joseph – Conn. 3, Albertus Magnus College 0 (Final)

In a battle of the two conference schools that reside in Connecticut, it was the Blue Jays who came out victorious in a straight set win over Albertus Magnus College. Saint Joseph took the match by set scores of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-17.

Saint Joseph senior Cassandra Grimaldi (Manchester, Conn.) paced the offensive attack for the Blue Jays as she swung at an impressive .625 clip on five kills. Also chipping in with five kills each were junior Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.) and freshman Shytasia Williams (Middletown, Conn.). Miller once again directed the offense with 17 assists and Eiger controlled the back line with eight digs. Grimaldi did her job on the defensive side as she recorded two block solos in the win.

Albertus saw freshman Jesselle Guzman (Saint Teresa, N.M.) distribute 11 assists and collect ten digs while junior Jacqueline Gonzalez (Ansonia, Conn.) totaled five kills to lead the Falcons in the three set loss. Junior Ana Gomez (New Haven, Conn.), senior Amber Cohens (West Haven, Conn.) and freshman Ashley David (West Islip, N.Y.) all contributed with three kills each.

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

The final match of the day saw Rivier dispatch Albertus Magnus quickly in three sets as the Raiders were victorious by scores of 25-9, 25-13 and 25-13 in a match that lasted just 50 minutes.

Freshman Jessica Whyte (Plymouth, Mass.) paced Rivier to the win with an 8-kill, 389 hitting percentage performance on the afternoon. Sophomore Taylor White (Dunstable, Mass.) knocked down seven kills and collected 10 digs while freshman Sunny Foglia (Ramsenburg, N.Y.) hammered out six kills for the Raiders. Stefanovski passed out 32 assists and Boyle tabulated 17 digs in the team's 21st win of the season.

Gomez led the Falcons with six kills and a .357 hitting percentage with Guzman totaling four kills. Junior Marielis Muriel (New Haven, Conn.) was the assist leader with 10 and Cohens contributed with 9 digs.

With a 21-3 overall record and 5-1 in the conference, the Raiders will look to continue their winning ways when they return to the court on Tuesday night. Rivier will host Norwich University in a GNAC showdown at the Muldoon Gymnasium starting at 7pm. Saint Joseph (10-11, 4-4 GNAC) will also be in action on Tuesday night as they travel to Curry College in Milton, Mass. for a 7pm non-conference tilt while Albertus Magnus hosts Mount Hoyolke on the same night with a 7pm start time.