Men’s Volleyball Handles AIC in Four Sets

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's volleyball team downed American Int'l in four sets on Wednesday night in a non-conference matchup from the Muldoon Center.

The Raiders were victorious by set scores of 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 to even out their overall record at 4-4 while the Yellow Jackets fell to 1-6.

The two teams would trade scores for a majority of the opening set as the score was tied on 15 occasions. Late in the set, Rivier would fall behind 19-18 and would call a timeout. Despite tying the set three more times, the Raiders would ultimately fall on back-to-back kills by AIC's Robert Santana who closed out the frame.

Out of a Yellow Jackets timeout in the second set, the Raiders would make it 18-12 in their favor as Racine Camara posted a solo block. AIC never got closer than four points as Rivier tied the match at one-all.

In the third, three-straight kills from Ryan Peace, Camara, and Sokunbuth Ly made it 12-6 in favor of the hosts, forcing the Yellow Jackets into a timeout. From there, Ly would notch three more kills on the way to a 25-20 victory to put Rivier up 2-1.

Rivier trailed for the majority of the fourth set until the Raiders put together a 6-0 run to lead 23-21. The Raiders would get two kills from Ly to close out the match.

Neil Rea guided Riv to a .345 hitting percentage as he dished out 39 assists in the triumph. Both Peace and Ly recorded a team-high 14 kills in the victory. Peace hit at a .550 clip while notching two digs. Ly hit .370 to go along with an ace and a dig in the contest. Ethan Soltis hit .400 as he notched five kills, five digs, three aces, and two blocks.

Rivier will continue its homestand in a Saturday tri-match against Emmanuel (Mass.) and Emerson. First serve in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener versus the Saints is set for 11:00 a.m. at the Muldoon Center.