Women’s Volleyball Downs Norwich to Split Saturday’s GNAC Tri-Match at JWU (Providence)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Rivier women's volleyball team fell to JWU (Providence) in the early going of Saturday afternoon's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match but rallied against Norwich to finish the day with a 1-1 record.

The Raiders hold an 11-10 (6-2 GNAC) record following today's contests. The women's volleyball team will stay on the road for a midweek GNAC matchup with Dean on Wednesday evening. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at Pieri Gymnasium.

JWU-Providence 3, Rivier 1

The Wildcats came out swinging in the opening set as they climbed to an early 14-5 lead. The Raiders slowly chipped away at the lead off a string of errors. Sophomore Hannah Raab cut the Wildcats' lead to five after she recorded a couple of service aces. From then on, sophomore Sam Driend went on a service run with two aces and forced JWU (Providence) to commit more mistakes. Deadlocked at 27 apiece, Oliver and Benkwitt would seal the opening set for the Wildcats, 29-27.

The second set, like much of the match, was down to the wire. The Raiders kept the opening points close and eventually took the lead during senior Brynn Roche's service run. After trading points in the middle of the set, junior Ali Rivera tallied two service aces, giving Rivier an 18-15 lead. The Wildcats completed a six-point swing to reclaim the lead and for the Raiders into a timeout. A kill by senior Lily Sills brought Rivier within one, but it would be the Wildcats that came out on top at the end of set two.

Both teams began set three trading points until two kills from junior Callie Nanos allowed the Raiders to pull away. Service runs by junior Kaitlyn Miller and Rivera gave Rivier the steam they needed to take the Wildcats out of rhythm and take the set off the back of two kills by Sills, 25-21 

JWU regained that rhythm they were missing in the third set and made quick work of the Raiders in the fourth and final set. The Wildcats took as much as a 12-point lead and closed out the match 25-14.

Sills finished with 10 kills at a .375 clip in the setback while classmate Ryan Hicks dished out 26 assists.

Rivier 3, Norwich 1 

The Raiders got to work early in the first set against the Cadets, as they found their stride at the service line. Rivera's four aces and Miller's nine-point service run propelled Rivier to a 25-14 set one win.

First-year Lily Seibel fired in two services aces to begin the second set. A series of errors gave the Raiders a 16-9 lead, but the Norwich gained momentum and brought the set even at 19. Raab regained the lead for Rivier at the service line, with Rivera and Seibel adding kills to the mix. The Cadets fought their way back and a kill by Fruci sealed it with a kill to even the match at one set apiece.

The third set, much like the first, began with a service run, this time from senior Ryan Hicks. First-year Lydia Brakefield added a service ace of her own, booting Rivier's lead to seven. A kill by sophomore Leah Brown halted the cadet's building moment. The Raiders made a run after that with Roche closing out the third set on two services aces.

Both teams traded points to open the fourth set until Nihill stepped up to the service line and gave the cadets an 18-10 lead forcing Rivier into a timeout. A kill from sophomore Kacey Riseborough and two kills from Roche provided a boost for the Raiders coming out of the timeout and cut the Norwich lead to two. Nanos stepped up to the line and flipped Norwich's two-point lead into a two-point lead for the Raiders. Norwich leveled out the match off a kill from Finn and closed it out 25-23.

Rivier started the fifth set down 3-1 early but battled back to take a 12-10 lead and force Norwich into a timeout. The Raiders did not let the Cadets back into the match, closing it out with a Driend kill, 15-11.

Senior Brynn Roche registered 14 kills at a .346 clip. Sophomore libero Hannah Raab recorded 18 digs in the triumph.