Women's Volleyball - 2016 Season Review & GNAC Quarterfinal Preview
(Nashua, N.H.) As the calendar flips to November, the one thing that can be counted on is that the Rivier University Women's Volleyball team will be making their annual appearance in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Women's Volleyball program has appeared in the tournament in each of the past fifteen seasons including twelve trips to the championship game – six consecutive years – and six conference championships.
With the remarkable 2016 campaign behind them, long time Head Coach Craig Kolek and the Raiders have their sights set on another trip to the conference finals and the goal to capture the program's seventh title.
2016 Review:
Rivier – After a record breaking 2016 season, the Raiders enter the GNAC Tournament as the overall #2 seed with a 10-1 conference mark. They finished the season with a program record of 29 wins (29-3 overall) and saw three seniors eclipse the 1,000 career kill mark. Senior Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) was the first senior to accomplish the milestone back on October 15th with classmates Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) following with their 1,000th on October 18th and October 29th, respectively. McCormack also became just the second student-athlete in GNAC history and first in Rivier history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Silverman finished the season with a team best 332 kills and Mott was right behind her with 321 kills. McCormack totaled 232 kills as the trio combined for over 64% of the team's winners.
The three headed offensive attack was directed by sophomore setter Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.), who in her first year as the primary setter, dished out 954 assists. Along the defensive front, Silverman totaled 110 blocks (39 solos) and junior libero Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) accumulated 405 digs. McCormack finished with 273 digs as an outside hitter and rookie Jillian Boyle (North Andover, Mass.) picked up 238 digs over her 95 sets played.
GNAC Quarterfinal Preview:
November 1, 2016
@ Muldoon Gymnasium (Nashua, N.H.)
#2 Rivier University (29-3 overall, 10-1 GNAC) – Six Conference Titles, last in 2014
vs. #7 Emmanuel College (11-21 overall, 6-5 GNAC) – Three Conference Titles, last in 2006
In their only meeting of the season, the Raiders dismissed the Saints in straight sets on October 29th. After battling and trading punches through the first two sets – scores of 25-22 and 26-24 – Rivier outmuscled the three-time conference champions 25-13 in the third and final set. Silverman and Mott combined for 33 of the team's 44 kills and Trevino registered 17 digs as the Raiders wrapped up the overall #2 seed. Mary Shelow was the leader for Emmanuel with nine kills.
Players to Watch:
Lauren Silverman (Rivier) – 95 SP, 332 K, .417 Hitting %, 110 Total Blocks, 39 Block Solos.
Mary Shelow (Emmanuel) – 115 SP, 307 K, .217 Hitting %, 70 Total Blocks, 31 Block Solos.
All-Time Series:
Rivier leads the overall All-Time series against Emmanuel, 18-13 since the two programs first played each other in 1995. The Raiders also hold a 7-4 edge in the GNAC Tournament with the last Quarterfinal matchup against each other in 2007 (3-0 Riv win). These two programs have battled for the GNAC Championship three times with the programs deadlocked at 2-2 (Rivier 2003 & 2013, Emmanuel 2005 & 2006)
