Raiders split home Tri-Match, now 6-1 in the GNAC

(Nashua, NH) The Rivier University Women's Volleyball team lost their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference match in the final match of the day as they hosted both Emmanuel College and Emerson College, two opponents the Raiders faced on the way to the 2011 GNAC Championship.

In the opening match, the Raiders cruised to a 3-0 victory over Emmanuel. Rivier defeated the Saints 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20 as they picked up win #14 on the season. Senior Kenna Finlayson (Derry, NH) once again paced the Raider offense as she had a game high 15 kills. Freshman Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, CA) helped out as she recorded 34 assists and junior defensive specialist Jessica Amaral (East Providence, RI) had 19 digs. Junior Nicole Peacock (Warwick, RI) registered 10 kills and a .353 hitting percentage along with three block assists. Freshman Jackie Pisecco (Chelmsford, MA) had 7 kills in the win.

The final match of the day inside the Muldoon Gymnasium was a rematch of the 2011 GNAC Championship between Rivier and Emerson College. It was an epic game that saw the Raiders come back from a 2-1 deficit at Emerson and win the fifth set, 15-12 to earn their 4th GNAC title. However, it was Emerson's turn to win on the opposing floor as they handed Rivier their first GNAC loss in 2012, 3-1. The games were close – 25-21 (Riv), 25-18 (EME), 25-23 (EME) and 25-23 (EME) – as the Raiders had their chances but couldn't capitalize.

Finlayson did all she could to try to remain undefeated as she had 22 kills and a .372 hitting percentage. O'Reilly had 39 assists while Amaral had 18 digs. Junior Nicole Boucher (Windham, NH) recorded 10 kills in the loss.

Rivier (14-6 overall, 6-1 GNAC) will return to action on Friday night when they travel to Cambridge, MA for the MIT Quad Invitational.