Men's Volleyball Drops Matches to Arcadia and MIT in Tri-Match

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Rivier men's volleyball team dropped both of its matches on Saturday, falling to Arcadia and MIT in a tri-match at the Rockwell Cage.

The Raiders opened the day with a 24-26, 16-25, 19-25 loss to the Knights before closing out the event with a 16-25, 16-25, 27-25, 19-25 defeat to the Engineers.

With the losses, the Raiders dropped to 6-10 (1-3 GNAC) while the Knights and Engineers improved to 8-14 (2-1 MAC) and 12-11 (0-5 NEWMAC), respectively.

The Raiders look to bounce back as they return to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Tuesday, March 18 with a 7:00 p.m. matchup at Elms.

Arcadia 3, Rivier 0

Rivier held a 17-11 lead in the first set after a kill from junior Matthew McCloskey, but Arcadia responded with five straight points to close the gap to 17-16. Back-to-back kills from McCloskey, followed by a kill from sophomore Racine Camara, put the Raiders back in front at 20-18. Arcadia mounted a comeback, scoring 7 of the next 11 points to claim the first set 26-24.

In the following two sets, MIT's offense hit a strong .220 overall, with a match-high, .304 hitting percentage in the second set, helping them complete the sweep with a 3-0 victory.

McCloskey and Camara each recorded eight kills, while senior Bassam Awde added five kills and led the team with a .417 hitting percentage on 12 attempts. Awde also contributed five blocks in the match.

MIT 3, Rivier 1

Rivier struggled early as MIT's attack powered the home team to a 2-0 set lead. The Engineers were dominant in the opening two frames, hitting .391 and .400, respectively, to overwhelm the Raiders.

The Raiders responded in the third set, which saw six ties and a key lead change that Rivier never relinquished. They posted a .160 hitting percentage while holding MIT to .139, with Camara leading the way with 3 kills to extend the match.

The fourth set remained competitive, but despite hitting .320, Rivier trailed 21-17 late before conceding the final four points, allowing the Engineers to secure their 12th win of the season.

Camara led the Raiders with 12 kills and four blocks, while classmate Aidan Combs contributed 8 kills. Sophomore Tyler Dickinson also recorded four blocks in the match. Sophomore Justin Barish rallied the team with 25 assists.