Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Dean in GNAC Opener

FRANKLIN, Mass. – The Rivier men's volleyball team swept Dean in its Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener on Tuesday night at Pieri Gymnasium using a balanced offensive approach while limiting the Bulldogs to a .074 team hitting percentage.

The Raiders jumped above .500 at 4-3 overall while Dean dropped to 1-6 (0-1 GNAC).

Rivier led 9-4 before a three-point swing from the Bulldogs cut the Raiders' lead to two. The Raiders' lead improved to as many as six on a service ace from first-year Cade Barron who made it 16-10 at the time. Following a push from Dean that made it a three-point game, back-to-back kills from sophomore Aidan Combs following a Bulldogs' error regained Rivier's six-point lead at 20-14 and forced the home team to call a timeout to regroup. Rivier used a pair of kills by Combs while classmates Racine Camara and Tyler Dickinson recorded kills to finish the set off strong for the Raiders who hit .409 in the frame.

The Raiders jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second with three kills by Combs in that span. A service ace by junior Matthew McCloskey forced the Bulldogs to regroup with a timeout trailing 13-6. Rivier went on to lead by as many as eight points before closing out the set on a kill from first-year Adyn Davis.

Despite 12 tie scores and a late 21-20 lead by the Bulldogs, the Raiders rallied to flip the script and secure five consecutive points as first-year Cody Fitzpatrick recorded three kills in that span to earn the victory.

Combs led the Raiders with nine kills at a .636 clip while recording two digs and a solo block. Dickinson notched six kills while hitting .500 with two solo blocks and two aces. Camara posted seven kills and seven digs while Fitzpatrick recorded 10 kills at a .190 hitting percentage. Barron dished out a career-high 27 assists while registering two aces.

Rivier returns to the Muldoon Center on Friday, Feb. 7 for a GNAC clash with No. 9 Wentworth with first-serve slated for 7:00 p.m.