Disappointing Day at the 'Doon

(Nashua, NH) After capturing the 2011 GNAC Tournament Championship, the 2012 Rivier University Raiders came up short in their title defense as #2 Emerson College pulled off the 3-0 upset to win the GNAC Title inside the Muldoon Gymnasium this afternoon. 

It was the second year in a row that these two programs met in the Championship. In 2011, #2 Rivier entered the campus of Emerson and stole a grueling five set match. The 2012 Championship match was a tough fought battle as the two teams were rarely separated by more than 2 points all day as this year Emerson took the three sets with scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 26-24.

Rivier (24-10 overall, 11-1 GNAC) was led by senior captain Kenna Finlayson (Derry, NH) who laced a game high 17 kills in her final performance as a Raider. Junior Nicole Peacock (Warwick, RI) registered 7 kills while classmate Nicole Boucher (Windham, NH) had 8. Finlayson also was the team leader with 11 digs and freshman Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, RI) had 10. Freshman Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, CA) recorded yet another 30+ assist game as she finished with 34.

Emerson (19-10 overall, 10-2 GNAC Regular Season) was led by GNAC Tournament MVP Juliana Tucker. The freshman from Encino, California had a game-high 36 assist to go along with her 9 digs. The combination of junior Alyssa Thorne (Pittsburgh, PA) and sophomore Kat Rice (Delmar, NY) produced 25 of the team's 38 kills on the afternoon – they had 13 and 12 respectively. Rice recorded an outstanding .545 hitting percentage and 4 total blocks. Both freshman Heather Park (Closter, NJ) and junior Jamie Morgan (Maple Glen, PA) had 14 digs which was also the game high. Freshman Guili Frendak (Warrington, PA) had 9 kills in the win.

Following the presentation of the Championship Trophy and banner, the GNAC announced the 2012 All-Tournament Team. Joining the MVP Tucker are both Morgan and Rice from Emerson and Finlayson and Peacock from Rivier. Simmons College and Johnson and Wales will each have representatives that be announced later to comprise the seven student-athlete All-Tournament Team.

Emerson will now represent the GNAC as they advance to the NCAA Tournament. The site and opponent is yet to be determined.