Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Elms

NASHUA, N.H. – Paced by an 11-kill performance from sophomore Tyler Dickinson, the Rivier men's volleyball team cruised past Elms in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup in the Muldoon Center on Tuesday night in straight sets.

Rivier improved to 10-14 (5-7 GNAC), winning by scores of 25-11, 26-24, 25-13. The visiting Blazers fell to 6-20 (3-8 GNAC).

The Raiders got out to an 8-4 lead forcing the Blazers to call an early timeout. Leading 17-11 later in the frame, Rivier rattled off eight straight kills to take the set in convincing fashion. Junior Matthew McCloskey led the team with six kills at a .857 clip.

The second set was highly contested with 11 tie scores and seven lead changes, but the Raiders prevailed in the late stages to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Dickinson recorded three kills on four errorless swings to hit .750 in the second.

Elms called a timeout trailing early in the third as back-to-back aces from first-year Cade Barron made it 8-3 in favor of the Raiders. Rivier's lead ballooned to 10 with a seven-point swing to make it 16-6, forcing Elms to burn their final timeout. Up 23-13, sophomore Aidan Combs registered a kill and a service ace on back-to-back points to close the match. Dickinson was 5-for-5 in the third to round out his impressive outing.

Dickinson recorded a team-high .846 hitting percentage with one block assist to his credit as the team finished with a .429 team percentage. McCloskey ended up with nine kills at a .667 clip while first-year Cody Fitzpatrick posted six kills at a .625 percentage. Barron pitched in with 20 assists, seven digs, six kills, and two aces. Camara tied Barron for the lead in digs with seven. Sophomore Justin Barish posted 15 assists and two aces in the victory.

Rivier returns to action on Wednesday, April 2 for a non-conference road clash at No. 2 Springfield. First serve inside Blake Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.