Men's Volleyball sweeps Emerson; advances to GNAC Semi-finals

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball team has successfully advanced to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semi-finals with a clean three set win over Emerson College this evening at the Muldoon Gymnasium. The Quarterfinal matchup pitted the third seeded Raiders against the sixth seeded Lions, the Raiders will now travel to second seeded Lasell College on Thursday night.

The Raiders (21-10 overall) took the match by scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-16.

Rivier's offensive attack was paced by sophomore Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) who hammered down 14 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. The second year outside hitter also recorded seven digs and three total blocks on the evening. Junior Ian Wolski (Westfield, Mass.) collected eleven kills of his own with a .450 hitting percentage and three total blocks while freshman Khaynen Yocca (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added eight kills on a .727 hitting percentage. Junior Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.) dished out 39 assists and sophomore Matt Heckler (Simi Valley, Calif.) came up huge defensively with six total blocks. Senior Nick Ochoa (Whittier, Calif.) matched Andler with seven digs along the back line for Rivier.

Emerson's Mark Piorkowski was the team leader with 10 kills and Jackson Wiley added eight kills in the season ending loss this evening. Brendan McGonigle had 29 assists and Jared Gross totaled the game high of eight digs. The Lions finish the 2016 season with a 9-16 overall record.

GNAC Semi-final Preview:

The Raiders and Lasers will square off for the third time this season as the team's split the first two games. Back on March 3rd, the Lasers took care of business on home court as they were able to hand Rivier a tough 3-0 loss by scores of 25-23, 31-29 and 25-15. Just 20 days later, the Raiders returned the favor and promptly swept the Lasers by scores of 25-15, 31-29 and 25-18 at the Muldoon Gymnasium. Game time is set for 7pm inside the Lasell Athletic Center in Auburndale, Mass.

The other semi-final match up will feature top seeded Wentworth hosting fourth seeded Emmanuel College. The Saints earned the semi-final berth with a four set win over fifth seeded Johnson & Wales.