Men’s Volleyball Opens Season with Win Over Potsdam, Loss to No. 9 Vassar

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Rivier men's volleyball team began its 2024 campaign in a tri-match hosted by Vassar on Saturday afternoon at Kenyon Hall. The Raiders downed the Bears in four sets before dropping a 3-0 decision to the No. 9 ranked Brewers.

Rivier won by set scores of 24-26, 25-12, 25-23, 25-17 to Potsdam before losing to Vassar 14-25, 18-25, 17-25.

Next up, the Raiders will travel to Beverly, Mass. on Wednesday, Jan. 24 for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup with Endicott at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Rivier 3, Potsdam 1

Rivier dropped a highly contested opening set which needed extra points to find a victor. Ethan Soltis notched six kills at a .444 clip to help keep things close for the Raiders.

A 7-0 run started things off for Rivier in the second set to help earn an early cushion. Rivier's lead would again reach seven as Neil Rea and Matthew McCloskey would combine on a block to give the Raiders a 14-7 lead. Following a Bears timeout at 18-10, Rivier would finish the set on a 7-2 run to tie the match at one-all. Isaac Borges recorded four kills on five errorless swings in the frame.

The third set would be much closer as the score was tied on 14 occasions with five lead changes. In the end, it would be back-to-back kills from Borges and Rea, both assisted by one another, that would seal the set at 25-23 to give Riv its first lead of the match. Chris Lezon hammered home two aces in the set.

Rivier would get on a big run to start the fourth set, scoring eight straight, forcing Potsdam into a timeout. The Raiders would lead the entire way, cruising to a 25-17 win to secure the win.

Rea led the way with 26 assists, eight digs, seven kills, and three aces in the match.

No. 9 Vassar 3, Rivier 0

Rivier lost the first set as Vassar hit .550 as a team to earn a 1-0 advantage in the match. Despite dropping the game, Sokunbuth Ly and Ryan Peace each notched two kills apiece.

The Brewers erased a 9-6 deficit in the second set with a 6-0 run to take a 12-9 edge and power past the Raiders using another .550 team hitting percentage.

Rivier kept it close as a Racine Camara kill kept it as close as 12-10. From there, Vassar would close out the set to earn the sweep.

Neil Rea (11) and Davin Siharath (9) combined to dish out 20 assists in the contest. Peace's eight kills at a .250 clip were a team best.