Women's Volleyball: Team effort propels Raiders past Anna Maria

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Women's Volleyball team earned their sixth straight conference win tonight as they swept visiting Anna Maria College, 3-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest inside the Muldoon Gymnasium. The Raiders improve to 14-5 overall on the season and carry an unblemished mark in the conference at 6-0. The AMCATS, meanwhile, fall to 3-13 and 0-3 against conference competition.

Rivier was victorious by set scores of 25-11, 25-15 and 25-12.

The balanced attacked saw all 15 members of the Raiders involved in the win. Junior Jessica Whyte (Plymouth, Mass.) and sophomores Julia Zargaj (Groveland, Mass.), Jillian Rabasco (Nashua, N.H.) and Allison Zagami (Milford, Mass.) all led the team with four kills each while sophomore Emma Soucy (Dunbarton, N.H.) and freshmen Avery Pollard (Ballston Lake, N.Y.), Sydney Racevicius (Woodbury, Conn.) each chip in with three kills apiece. Senior Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.) dished out 13 assists over her two sets played while Pollard picked up eight assists. Defensively the Raiders were guided by senior Taylor White (Dunstable, Mass.) who had 10 digs and graduate Courtney Collins (Litchfield, N.H.) who totaled three blocks. Sophomore setter Katherine Antczak (Salem, N.H.) had a solid night as she complied seven assists and six digs while freshman Leah Giampietro (Coventry, R.I.) hammered down five service aces. Reigning GNAC Player of the Week, junior Taylor Dunster (Sutton, Mass.) played just one set and knocked down two-kills and the Raiders also saw both junior Sunny Foglia (Remsenburg, N.Y.) and sophomore Joy Maswoswe (Ashland, Mass.) contribute with one kill each while Foglia picked up three digs and Maswoswe had three service aces.

Anna Maria was paced by the offensive efforts of senior Sarah Lathrop (Waterford, Conn.), who led the team with three kills, and junior Hannah Mitchell's (Pittsfield, Mass.) two-kill night. Freshman Julia Ramos (Orange, Mass.) handed out four helpers while senior Victoria Falco (Marlboro, Mass.) controlled the back line with seven digs. Freshman Taylor Hoffstedt (Lansboro, Mass.) also added a kill and three digs in the loss.

It will be a quick turnaround for Rivier as they travel to Quincy, Massachusetts for a non-conference affair at Eastern Nazarene College tomorrow evening at 7pm. Anna Maria will return to the floor on Saturday as they host Lasell College and Saint Joseph's College (Me.) in a GNAC Tri-Match.