Men's Volleyball surge past Lasers 3-1

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier Men's Volleyball team defeated the Lasell College Lasers by the score of 3 sets to 1 this afternoon at Wildcat Arena. With the win, the Raiders have improved their season record to 11-9 (6-1 GNAC). As for the Lasers, they drop their season record to 17-6 (5-2 GNAC).

The first set was very challenging for the Raiders in this one. The Raiders, who were far away from their home court, found the crowd at Wildcat arena, most of which were Lasell or Johnson & Wales supporters, to be very difficult to play in, at first. Rivier played with a little bit of a chip after the first set. A set in which they lost 25-20 at the hands of the Lasers. From there, we would see a much different and stronger Raider team.

Despite the slow start, the Raiders were able to fight back from their first set loss and completely take over this match. Seemingly dominant in every facet of the game, the Raiders, who look to be the most experienced, best communicating, and hungry team in the conference. No matter how they begin a match, they always seem to find themselves fighting their way back. As a result of their efforts, the Raiders were not only able to take the second set by the score of 25-15, they were also able to take the second set in a dominant fashion 25-16.

Heading into the fourth set leading 2-1, the Raiders needed to slam the door shut on a possible comeback attempt by the Lasers. Again, with their team chemistry and experience, the Raiders were able to overcome the close scoring fourth set to steal the win by the score of 30-28.

Rivier was led by Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.) who was able to record an impressive 16 kills for the Raiders. Matt Tutino (Manorville, N.Y.) finished with 10 solid kills, while teammate Cam Phegley-Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) added an additional 7 kills for the Raiders. Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.) played a great game as he registered an incredible 46 assists.