Men's Volleyball sweeps tri-match to close out regular season

(New Haven, Conn.) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball team wrapped up the 2016 regular season this afternoon with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match sweep over Mount Ida College and hosts, Albertus Magnus College. The Raiders finish the season with an overall record of 20-10 and 10-4 in the conference.

Game One: Rivier University 3, Mount Ida College 0 (Final)

The Raiders came off the bus on fire as they swept Mount Ida College by scores of 25-13, 25-23 and 25-23 in the team's first match of the day.

Sophomore Matt Heckler (Simi Valley, Calif.) hammered down 13 kills and a .550 hitting percentage to lead the Raider offense. Heckler was also dominate on the defensive side of the net as he totaled four blocks. Freshman Dashaun Graham (Highland Falls, N.Y.) added 10 kills and classmate Nathan Kunkel (Plum Borough, Pa.) chipped in with seven kills and six digs on the afternoon. Junior setter Matthew LaSance (Madison, Conn.) dished out 37 assists and senior Nick Ochoa (Whittier, Calif.) collected six digs in the win.

The Mustangs were led by James Ames, who recorded the match high of 14 kills. Peter Griffenkranz also reached double-digits in kill with 10 and totaled 15 digs for Mount Ida who finished the season at 8-23, 2-12 GNAC.

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

Rivier kept the momentum rolling as they cruised to a three set win over Albertus Magnus College by scores of 25-8, 25-17 and 25-14.

Sophomore Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) and Heckler each knocked down 10 kills in the final match of the season for Rivier. Bucklin recorded an outstanding .714 hitting percentage while Heckler had yet another plus .500 percentage at .562. LaSance once again directed the offense with 40 assists while also leading the team with seven digs. Heckler continued his defensive prowess with another four total block night.

The Falcons were led by Justin Tharau who had eight kills and Jeremy Ortiz added 14 assists.

It was announced following the completion of the GNAC contests that Rivier University finished as the #3 seed in the upcoming conference tournament with their 10-4 GNAC record. The Raiders will host sixth-seeded Emerson College in a GNAC Quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday evening at the Muldoon Gymnasium, 7pm.