Men’s Volleyball Splits Opening Weekend

NASHUA, NH: Rivier men's volleyball split the day in the Muldoon Center against GNAC opponent Elms College and non-conference opponent Nichols College. The Raiders took down Elms College and fell to Nichols.

THE BASICS:

- Date: 1/28/23

- Score: Rivier 3, Elms 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-17). Nichols 3, Rivier 1 (25-18, 16-25, 13-25, 17-25)

- Records: Rivier (1-1, 1-0 GNAC), Elms (0-5, 0-1 GNAC), Nichols (2-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Match One

-  The Raiders took just about an hour to defeat the visiting Blazers to start GNAC play. Riv saw many play in this contest, with Chris Lezon (Lincoln, RI) leading the offense with 11 kills to go with 0 errors and an impressive .846 hitting percentage. Neil Rea (Windham, NH) moved into the setter role this season and dished out 30 assists while also being the team's leading defender with ten digs.  

- Elms struggled to get any offense going as they hit -.021 on the day. Moose Perry and Jairam Rodriguez were the go-to options for Lewis Torres. Perry had a team-high seven kills, with Rodriquez ending with six. Torres tallied 15 assists in the effort. Collin Liedke did his best to give his team opportunities with a game-high 15 digs.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Kills: Rivier 39, Elms 20

-  Assists: Rivier 35, Elms 19

-  Digs: Rivier 43, Elms 36

HOW IT HAPPENED: Match Two

-After the Raiders showed off their swinging ability and defense at the net to go on a significant run to take the first set, they struggled to get into any groove in the following three sets, dropping the match in four. Riv swung for a .556% and tallied 12 kills in the first set. They didn't see over a .100 for the remainder of the match.

- The Raiders offense was led by Sokunbuth Ly (Lowell, MA), who finished with a match-high 14 kills. Rea and Ethan Soltis (Massillon, OH) split setting duties, and both finished with 14 assists.

- The Bison had a well-spread offense, and after a seven kill first, they averaged 12 kills through sets two-four. Carlos Mercado and Tanner Soracco racked up ten kills each to top the team. Dylan Urbanski dished out 36 assists.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Kills: Nichols 43, Rivier 35

- Assists: Nichols 41, Rivier 34

- Digs: Nichols 40, Rivier 39

UP NEXT:

- Rivier men's volleyball will be back next Saturday when they travel to Springfield to face SUNY Potsdam at 1 pm and Springfield at 3 pm.

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