Women's Volleyball closes out 2014 Regular Season with a pair of wins

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Women's Volleyball team officially secured a home game in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament as they swept both the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Mount Ida College this afternoon at the Muldoon Gymnasium. The Raiders finish the 2014 season with an overall record of 25-6 with a 10-1 mark in conference play.

Game One: Rivier University 3, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 0 (Final)

In the day's first game, the Raiders were able to earn an important GNAC victory over the University of Saint Joseph, 3-0 by scores of 25-12, 25-15 and 25-15. The win secured the Raiders a quarterfinal home game in the upcoming GNAC Tournament on Tuesday night.

Sophomore Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) was the offensive force for the Raiders as she drove home a team high 12 kills and a .579 hitting percentage in the three set win. Classmate Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) also had a flawless game as she totaled 11 kills and 0 errors. Junior Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) directed the offense with 28 assists and freshman Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) collected 19 digs for Rivier. Junior Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, R.I.) added five service aces in the win.

The Blue Jays were led by junior Tiffany Mapusaga (Waianae, Hawaii) who had 8 kills and 8 digs. Senior Ciara Perez (Manchester, Conn.) also found herself atop the leaderboard for USJ as she hammered down 8 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Senior Justine Walicki (Plainville, Conn.) tied Mapusaga for the team high of 8 digs in the defensive effort while classmate Megan Williams (Lakeville, Conn.) provided 12 assists and a block solo.

Game Two: University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 3, Mount Ida College 1 (Final)

The Blue Jays would rebound in their second game as they finished the 2014 GNAC Regular Season with a 3-1 win over Mount Ida College. Scores of the game were 25-18, 25-15, 19-25 and 25-19. USJ finishes the season with a 16-6 overall record and an 8-3 mark in the conference, good enough for the projected fourth seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament.

Mapusaga once again led the way for Saint Joseph as she hit a blistering .447 and totaled 20 kills in the four set win. She also paced the defensive effort as she led the team with 11 digs. Perez finishes her final regular season game with 10 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. The Blue Jays also got a 34 assist performance from setter Williams and Elizabeth Tuazon added 10 digs in the win.

Mount Ida saw former Raider, junior Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine) knock down 13 kills and six digs as she made her first trip as a visitor to the 'Doon. Classmate Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) had 17 digs for the game high with senior Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.) racking up 31 assists. Freshman Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.) also contributed with 7 kills as did sophomore Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.).

Game Three: Rivier University 3, Mount Ida College 0 (Final)

The Raiders were able to wrap up at top two seed in the GNAC Tournament as they easily defeated Mount Ida, 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-13 in the day's final match.

McCormack paced the all-around effort from the Raiders as eleven different student-athletes saw time during the game. McCormack had 11 kills and a .435 hitting percentage with sophomore Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) providing support in the form of 7 kills and an .875 hitting percentage. O'Reilly finished with 25 assists and Trevino had 9 digs to lead the team in those respective categories. Freshman Alex Trevains (Litchfield, N.H.) added a kill and a dig the regular season finale.

Freshman Shayna Vallauri (Morris Plains, N.J.) and Reidy led the offense for the Mustangs as they each totaled four kills. Peixoto controlled the offense with 12 assists and Davis led the team with 9 digs. This was the final game of the season for Mount Ida as they finished the 2014 campaign with a 9-21 overall record and a 2-9 GNAC record.

Rivier, who is tied with Emmanuel College for the best conference record at 10-1, is projected to be the second seed in the GNAC Tournament – Emmanuel defeated Rivier, 3-1 back on October 11th to hold the tie breaker. The Raiders will most likely host Anna Maria College, the projected seventh seed, in the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Game time is set for 7pm inside the Muldoon Gymnasium.