Raiders Tame Panthers

Nashua NH - Rivier College (5-6 overall; 0-0 GNAC) defeated Plymouth State University 3-0 to improve their record to 5-6 on the season. For the second time in just under a week Rivier snapped a winless streak that lasted over a decade by sweeping in state foe PSU. Last week Rivier defeated Colby-Sawyer College 3-1 to end a decade long drought against the Chargers.

The Raiders offense ran on all cylinders hitting for a season high .349 percentage as setter Lauren Saccoccio (Warwick, RI) distributed the ball with good consistency. The junior from Warwick Rhode Island dished out 30 assists in the 3 sets. Sophomore Kenna Finlayson (Derry, NH) put down a team high 14 kills on 31 attempts with just 4 errors for a .323 hitting percentage while lacing in 3 service aces and putting up 3 blocks. Middle hitters Nicole Rodriguez (Newton, MA)and Nicole Peacock (Warwick, RI) were outstanding combining for 14 kills on 34 attempts with just 3 errors for a .323 hitting clip. The senior and freshmen tandem combined for 6 blocks as well. Danielle Jacques (Derry, NH) rounded off the offense with a robust 8 kills on 12 attempts with no errors for a sensational .666 hitting percentage. The back row trio of Emileigh Cenedella (Townsend, MA), Caitlin Callahan (Dedham, MA), and Christi Pratte (Manchester, NH) passed well all match and combined for 14 of the Raiders 21 digs. Freshman opposite Morgan Peck (Sudbury, MA) put up 2 blocks on the right side.

Set 1 of the 3 set match saw Rivier jump out to an early 6-0 lead as Saccoccio was able to serve tough and get the Panthers out of system often. When the Panther hitters were able to get a good swing on the ball, the pumped up Raiders were able to get the dig and put the ball back to the other side of the net for the point. Plymouth's go-to hitter Casey Stoodley (Salem, NH) was finally able to stop the bleeding with a kill down the line, but the Raiders were able to hang on to a comfortable lead for the entire game. The Panthers could close the lead to 5 only once before a late 4 point run by the Raiders put the game well out of reach and they cruised to the 25-15 victory.

Set two saw the Panthers start to show a little more life than the previous set, but it wasn't long before errors once again hit the Panthers hard. A close game in the beginning slowly got out of reach once again for the Panthers as a 3 point lead at 16-13 quickly turned to a 20-14 lead by the Raiders who were able to close the set out at 25-17 to take the 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was finally the battle that fans were looking for. With more than 100 people in the stands, set three saw the Panthers jump out to an early lead, one which they extended to 5 points when they held a 12-7 advantage. But the persistent defense and good serving of the Raiders allowed them to claw back into the match and a kills by Finlayson tied the game at 14-14. From here Plymouth was once again able to gain a small advantage and went up 2 points, but the Raiders again came back to tie the game at 17-17, then again at 19-19 and 21-21. After an attack error by Plymouth's Shannen Vaughn, Plymouth called a timeout to regroup. A service error by Saccoccio tied the game at 23-23 before a kill by Peacock and a great serve by Finlayson helped the Raiders grab the final two points and win the match 3-0.

The win improves the Raiders record to 5-6 while the Panthers fall to 7-5. Rivier will travel to Keene State College on Thursday 9/23 for a 7:00pm match against the Owls.