Women's Volleyball splits non-conference Tri-Match

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Women's Volleyball team went 1-1 this afternoon in a non-conference tri-match inside the Muldoon Gymasium. The Raiders were victorious against Colby College, 3-1, before dropping a five set battle with Roger Williams. The Hawks also defeated Colby in the middle match – another five set thriller.

Game One: Rivier University 3, Colby College 1 (Final)

The Raiders were able to stretch their impressive winning streak to 10 straight as they defeated Colby College in the opening game of the day's tri-match at the Muldoon Gymnasium. Rivier took the game in four sets by scores of 19-25, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-16.

Junior Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) set the pace for Rivier as she hammered down a game high 12 kills while recording 15 digs. Classmate Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) also reached double-digit kills as she had 10 and a .444 hitting percentage. Senior Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) registered 38 assists and sophomore libero Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) had 15 digs. Silverman also had six total blocks in the match.

The Mules (6-4) were led by Kim Donaldson who matched McCormack for the game high of 12 kills. Emily Moslener and Molly Manuel combined for 32 assists with Paige Hanssen totaling 12 digs. Elizabeth Noyes had a solid first match with 6 kills and 11 digs.

Game Two: Colby College 3, Roger Williams University 2 (Final)

The Mules were able to rebound in game two and hold off a tough Roger Williams squad for the five set win in the day's second contest. Colby took the game by scores of 20-25, 25-21, 25-15, 20-25 and 15-10.

Sarah Arvidson was on fire for Colby as she laced 15 kills and recorded a .342 hitting percentage over her five set match. Arvidson also collected 14 digs while Erin Maidman led the defensive effort with 19. Moslener directed the offense as she totaled 21 assists and Natalie Roy chipped in with 18 digs.

Roger Williams saw Elizabeth Flaherty tie Arvidson for the game high with 15 kills and Nicole Weber led all setters with 47 assists. Kristen Boyer contributed 10 kills and 14 digs in the loss with Maria Batas pacing the defense as she collected 25 digs. Cassandra Minogue and Molly Quilty totaled four blocks each.

Game Three: Roger Williams University 3, Rivier University 2 (Final)

In what was the best match of the day, the Hawks were able to snap the Raiders' 10 game win streak in a five set thriller in front of about 50 fans inside the Muldoon Gymnasium.

Roger Williams quickly jumped out to a 2-0 advantage by winning the first two sets 25-19 and 25-18. However the resilient Raiders battled back and forced a fifth set by stealing the third and fourth sets, 25-20 and 25-21. In the end the Hawks were able to reach 15 first and in doing so, swept the tri-match with a 15-11 fifth set final.

Silverman was dominate along the net as she led the Raiders with 20 kills and a .441 hitting percentage to go along with her six total blocks. McCormack provided help with 10 kills and junior Jackie Pisecco (Chelmsford, Mass.) added 7 kills. O'Reilly directed the offense with 40 assists and helped out defensively with 14 digs in the loss while Trevino totaled 23 digs.

Roger Williams (8-7 overall) was led by the trio of Quilty, Flaherty and Boyer who each reached the double digit mark in kills. Quilty was the team leader with 18 kills and a .406 hitting percentage while Flaherty (16 kills) and Boyer (12) were right behind her. Weber totaled 47 assists and Batas was outstanding along the back line with 39 digs.

Rivier (10-4 overall) will host Keene State in their next contest on Tuesday evening at 7pm.