Men's Volleyball sends seniors out with sweep of Emerson

(Nashua, N.H.) It was senior night at the Muldoon Gymnasium where the Rivier University Men's Volleyball team honored the departing three seniors with a three set sweep of visiting Emerson College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest. The win propels the Raiders to 18-10 on the season and more importantly, 8-5 in the GNAC. The Lions, meanwhile, stumble to 9-14 overall, 5-8 GNAC.

Prior to the start of the game, Rivier celebrated the distinguished careers of seniors Nick Ochoa (Whittier, Calif.), Mike Hovnanian (Methuen, Mass.) and Mike Hadder (Yucaipa, Calif.). All three have been a apart of the program for the last three years in which they made 3 GNAC finals appearances and two NCAA Tournament appearances along with winning the GNAC Tournament twice.

As for the game, the Raiders were paced offensively by junior Ian Wolski (Westford, Mass.) and sophomore Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.). Wolski finished with 12 kills and a .318 hitting percentage while Andler was a tick behind at 11 kills. Hadder finished his regular-season Muldoon career with 10 kills and two total blocks. Junior setter Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.) distributed 40 assists and Ochoa controlled the back line with 11 digs. Sophomore Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) was the dig leader with 13 while Hovnanian recorded four digs in the three set win.

Win Kittivatcharapong was the offensive leader for Emerson as he had seven kills and Jackson Wiley finished with five kills. Nick Rusk contributed with 16 assists and Jared Gross was the defensive leader with seven digs. Stig Regan also had a solid night along the net as he totaled four blocks in the loss.

Rivier will close out the 2016 regular season this Saturday afternoon as the travel to New Haven, Connecticut for a GNAC tri-match with Albertus Magnus College and Mount Ida College. Emerson will close out their regular season with a single match at home against Wentworth.