Regis (Mass.) Downs Women’s Volleyball in Four

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier women's volleyball team fell to Regis (Mass.) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) four set affair on Wednesday night at Muldoon Gymnasium. The Raiders fell by set scores of 20-25, 27-25, 21-25, 19-25 to fall to 15-9 (9-4 GNAC), while the Pride advanced to 22-7 (12-1 GNAC).

Rivier would jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first set on a Ryan Hicks service run before the lead ballooned to seven at 10-3 on a Pride attack error. From there, Regis battled its way back into contention, eventually tying the match at 16-all before taking its first lead of the frame on a Toni Ondris service ace. Two additional points made it 19-17 in favor of the visitors, which forced the Raiders into a timeout. After a Regis service ace made it 22-18, Rivier would burn their final timeout to reset. Despite two errors on the Regis side of the net, the hosts would not get closer than three points as the Pride held on for the win to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Regis' Avery Mola was busy on the outside, taking 14 of the team's 31 swings in the frame, notching four kills at a .143 clip. Rivier's Brynn Roche went a perfect three-for-three on attacks in the opening set.

The second set would be highly contested, with 16 tie scores and six lead changes, with Rivier ultimately coming away with the edge in extra points. Facing set point, which would have sent them into a 2-0 hole, a service error for the Pride and a Roche kill flipped the script and put the Raiders up 25-24. From there, the teams would trade points once again before Callie Nanos would put an end to things with a kill from the right side. Roche remained perfect on the night with two kills on two attempts in the second as Rivier evened the match at 1-1.

Trailing 6-4 in the third, Rivier would score four-straight points capped off by a Kaitlyn Miller service ace, which would result in an early Regis timeout as the Raiders now led, 8-6. Neither team could find an edge in the middle of the set until a 5-2 Regis run would make it 19-16 in favor of the guests, causing Rivier to call its first timeout of the set. The Pride would go on to outscore the Raiders 6-5 over the remainder of the set to regain their lead. Kamdyn Tenorio of Regis would register three kills at a .333 clip in the frame.

Regis took the lead early in the fourth set and never let it go, as the Pride fended off the Raiders for a 25-19 win for their 12th conference victory. Rita Dow and Grace Fabiano got in the mix in a major way in the final game as the team recorded a .350 hitting percentage.

Both Roche and Ali Rivera recorded a team-best eight kills in the setback. Sam Driend and Lily Sills would follow close behind with seven apiece. Sofia Pawlusik led the Raiders with 13 digs and a .900 reception percentage, and the team registered four total blocks.

Rivier will conclude its regular season in a home GNAC tri-match against Anna Maria and Elms, with start times of 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Muldoon Gymnasium. Pawlusik, the team's lone senior, will be honored prior to the start of the match against the Blazers for her four years of dedication, leadership, and on-court success.