Women's Volleyball Bows Out of GNAC Tournament in Quarterfinals

NEWTON, Mass. – The fifth-seeded Rivier women's volleyball team was defeated in straight sets to Lasell, the fourth seed, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals on Tuesday night at the Lasell Athletic Center. The Raiders lost by set scores of 19-25, 17-25, 19-25 and concluded the season with a 17-10 overall record. The Lasers will continue their quest for the GNAC crown in a semifinal matchup against top-seeded Simmons on Thursday night in Boston.

Lasell jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set, causing the Raiders to use an early timeout to reset. The Lasers later ballooned their cushion to 12 points when a McKenna Cool kill made it 18-6 in favor of the hosts. Rivier would bounce back with four straight points, which would cause a Lasell timeout with the deficit now at four points. The Raiders would continue their run to bring the score to within four before the Lasers would pull away to take a 1-0 edge in the match.

In the second set, Lasell took an early lead and never let it go as the match lead increased to 2-0. Rivier battled consistently throughout the frame to keep the score close, but the Lasers would once again pull away in the late-going with three-straight points to shut down a Raiders comeback bid.

A 6-1 run late in the third had Rivier down by just four at 22-18, forcing the Lasers to use a timeout. Out of the timeout, Lasell rallied to score three of the final four points to take the match and advance to the GNAC Semifinals for the second consecutive season.

Senior libero Sofia Pawlusik recorded a team-best 15 digs in her final collegiate contest.