Twice as nice! Women's Volleyball repeat as GNAC Champions

(Nashua, N.H.) The second seeded Raiders of Rivier University were able to overcome a 10-2 deficit in the third set as they captured their sixth overall and second consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship this afternoon at the Muldoon Gymnasium in Nashua, New Hampshire. The Raiders topped fourth seeded Johnson and Wales University in four sets by scores of 25-22, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-16.

This is the first repeat GNAC Women's Volleyball Champions since the Raiders won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. This was also the fifth time that the Wildcats and Raiders squared off for the GNAC Championship and first since JWU's last title in 2010. Rivier is now 6-5 in GNAC Championship Games.

Rivier quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set behind a vociferous crowd of 100+. Following a timeout, the Wildcats went on a 9-3 run to take their first lead of the game at 10-9. The teams would then trade points leading to a 22-21 Rivier lead before JWU took their second timeout. Raider sophomore Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) ended the set with authority as she hammered down her 9th kill of the set to give Rivier a 1-0 lead.

Johnson and Wales would have their own rally in the game's second set. Trailing 12-9 the Wildcats battled back and knotted the set up at 20-20 before a Rivier timeout was called. The Raiders tried to get back into it but a huge block solo from JWU junior Marissa Bunnewith (Millbury, Mass.) and a service ace from junior Paula Cadavid (Pawtucket, R.I.) quickly ended the set and tied the game at 1 all.

JWU would take that second set momentum into the third set as they dominated early en route to what seemed like a commanding 10-2 lead. A kill from sophomore Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.), service ace from freshman Jordan Donohue (Meredith, N.H.) and a block solo by Silverman started to swing the momentum in favor of the Raiders as they were only down 10-5. From that point on, Rivier answered every JWU attack but were still behind 20-15 as the third set was nearing the finish point. Sophomore Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) toed the service line and knocked out back-to-back service aces to bring Rivier within two. JWU answered quickly as they gained those points right back to take a 22-18 lead. Junior Jackie Pisecco (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Mott took over as the pair added three kills and Mott with a huge block solo on Bunnewith to bring the Raiders within a point at 23-22. Junior Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) then proceed to make an important game tying kill before Pisecco put the team on the doorstep with her third kill of the game. The Raiders would then earn the third set win after a JWU attack went long, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The fourth set was never in doubt as Rivier built a 10-5 lead before going on a 15-11 run to end the match on a block assist from Mott and Donohue.

Mott finished with a game high 18 kills and .484 hitting percentage. McCormack was right behind her with 10 kills and Silverman added 9 kills in the championship win. O'Reilly provided 38 assists and 13 digs while freshman libero Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) led the defensive effort with 18 digs. Mott also recorded six total blocks and the trio of Silverman, Donohue and O'Reilly had four total blocks each. Junior Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, R.I.) added a pair of service aces and freshman Madison Soucy (Tolland, Conn.) collected six digs for the Raiders.

The Wildcats received a double-double from senior Alyssa Drapeau (Biddeford, Maine). Drapeau had 11 kills and 11 digs in the four set loss. Cadavid finished with 8 kills and Bunnewith had 6 kills for JWU. Junior Kellen Tensen (New Canaan, Conn.) directed the offensive attack with 25 assists and junior libero Kaitlin Kuntz (Boone, Iowa) tied the game high with 18 digs.

Following the match, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference announced the 2014 GNAC Women's Volleyball All-Tournament Team. Simmons sophomore libero Alex Itasaka (Bradford, Mass.) and Emmanuel senior libero Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) were selected as both teams made incredible runs to the GNAC Semi-Finals. JWU was represented by Bunnewith and Drapeau as they led the fourth seeded Wildcats to a semi-final upset and an appearance in today's game. Rivier saw McCormack and Mott get selected for their outstanding individual efforts before O'Reilly was named the Tournament MVP.

As the GNAC Champions, the Raiders (28-6 overall) will move on to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The brackets and opponents will be announced later this week.