Women's Volleyball: Whyte's 18 kills lead Rivier past USM, 3-1

Story written and posted by Anthony Perry, Rivier University Sports Information Director

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier University Women's Volleyball team closed out the month of September with a four-set win over visiting University of Southern Maine this evening inside the Muldoon Gymnasium. The win is the Raiders' fourth straight and they now have won eight of their previous ten to improve to 10-5 on the season. The Huskies fall to 6-9 on the year with the loss.

Rivier was victorious by set scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-19 and 25-19.

Senior Jess Whyte (Plymouth, Mass.) led the charger for the Raiders as she hammered down a game-high 18 kills while registering a .371 hitting percentage and adding two total blocks. Both senior Taylor Dunster (Sutton, Mass.) and junior Julia Zargaj (Groveland, Mass.) chipped in with 11 kills each as Dunster also scooped up 15 digs along the back line and Zargaj contributed defensively with three total blocks. Sophomore Sydney Racevicius (Woodbury, Conn.) collected the game-high of 17 digs and freshman libero Olivia Garand (Litchfield, N.H.) finished with 16 digs. Sophomore Avery Pollard (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) dished out 45 assists and picked up 14 digs on the evening for Rivier.

Southern Maine was guided by a trio of student-athletes who all totaled seven kills. Junior Jamie Jannarone (Windham, Maine) swung at a .385 clip while also gathering seven digs and three total blocks for the Huskies while freshman Joie Hared (South Salem, N.Y.) and sophomore Sophie Lindsey (Pasadena, Calif.) were the other two student-athletes to lead the team with seven winners. Freshman Cassidy Gibb (Lee, N.H.) set the offense with 17 assists and junior Rachel Chille (Yarmouth, Maine) patrolled the back line with 16 digs. Also shining bright in the loss were the defensive efforts of junior Lauren Delissio (Hebron, Conn.) and sophomore Kacey Foerster (Scarborough, Maine) who both reached double-figures with 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Senior Kylee Austin (Saco, Maine) added two block solos for the Huskies on the night.

The Raiders will enjoy a rare weekend off as they prepare for play in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference when they return to the court on Wednesday, October 2 in Paxton, Mass. against Anna Maria College. USM will travel to Castleton, Vermont for a split conference tri-match with Castleton University and Paul Smiths College on Saturday morning in their next scheduled contests.