Women's Volleyball downed by Babson, 3-0

(Nashua, N.H.) In a battle of regionally ranked programs, the Rivier University Women's Volleyball team suffered just their third loss of the season as visiting Babson College took the non-conference contest in straight sets at Rivier's Muldoon Gymnasium. The Raiders, ranked #9 in the latest New England Women's Volleyball Association poll, dropped the three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-22 to #13 Babson.

Rivier is now 19-3 on the season while the Beavers move to 13-8. This was the fifth time that these two programs have battled with Babson now holding the 3-2 edge in the series.

Senior Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) led the offensive attack for the Raiders as she recorded a team-high 11 kills with a .320 hitting percentage. Classmate Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) hammered down nine kills and totaled three blocks while fellow senior Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) inches her way towards history with five kills and twelve digs. Sophomore setter Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.) dished out 28 assists on the evening and junior Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) match McCormack with 12 digs in the loss.

The Beavers were paced by sophomore Gizem Yilmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) who 10 kills and an impressive .625 hitting percentage. The second-year middle blocker was electric along the net as she totaled six blocks, including two block solos. Senior Lorraine Mackiewicz (Edison, N.J.), also had a terrific night with 13 kills and a .320 hitting percentage. The veteran opposite also recorded four total blocks and nine digs. Freshman Elizabeth Cameron (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) directed the offense with 28 assists and sophomore Abby Beecher (Pittsford, N.Y.) led the defensive effort with 14 digs.

Rivier will look to obtain 20 wins for the twelfth consecutive season when they host both the University of Saint Joseph and Albertus Magnus College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match on Saturday, October 15th beginning at 11am. Babson will enjoy the weekend off before they get set to travel to MIT for a NEWMAC contest in Cambridge, Mass. starting at 7pm on Tuesday, October 18.