Women's Volleyball: Raiders ghost their way to GNAC Semi-finals

(Nashua, N.H.) The friendly confines of the Muldoon Gymnasium once again appeared on ole Hallows eve as the third-seeded Rivier University Women's Volleyball defeated visiting sixth-seeded Saint Joseph's College (Me.), 3-0 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals. Rivier earned the win by set scores of 25-11, 26-24 and 25-14.

This is the Raiders' 14th consecutive win over Saint Joseph's (Me.) dating back to their first matchup against one another in the 2001 season. Rivier also moves onto the GNAC Tournament Semi-finals for the 16th consecutive time during Head Coach Craig Kolek's illustrious 19-year tenure in Nashua.

Junior Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.) guided the explosive Raider offense as she dished out 31 assists while also registering 10 digs. Two-way star sophomore Taylor Dunster (Sutton, Mass.) hammered down a team-high 8 kills along with scooping up 8 digs. Senior libero Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) had herself a night as she collected 18 digs and freshman Jillian Rabasco (Nashua, N.H.) tied Dunster with 8 kills in the clean sweep.

The Monks, who finish the season at 14-18 overall, were led by sophomore Kelsey Bickford (Somersworth, N.H.) who had 7 kills with freshman Erin Olson (Stoughton, Mass.) adding three kills of her own. Junior Sarah Dyer (Seabrook, N.H.) issued 11 assists on the evening while classmate Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) led the defensive unit with 16 digs.

The Raiders will get ready to travel to Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday evening as they square off against second-seeded Simmons College in the GNAC Tournament Semi-finals. Game time is scheduled to start at 7pm.

Other GNAC Quarterfinal games - #1 JWU def. #8 Mount Ida, 3-0 | #2 Simmons def. #7 Suffolk, 3-0 | #3 Rivier def. #6 Saint Joseph's (Me.), 3-0 | #4 Lasell def. #5 Regis (Mass.), 3-0

GNAC Semi-finals (Thursday, November 2, 2017): #1 JWU vs. #4 Lasell @ 7pm | #2 Simmons vs. #3 Rivier @ 7pm

GNAC Championship (Saturday, November 4, 2017): @ Highest remaining seed