Nashua, NH - Rivier College, the 7th ranked
team in Division III volleyball, picked up their first two wins of
the 2010 season with a 3-1 win over Medaille College and a 3-0
sweep over No-11 Baruch College.
Rivier jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Medaille but stumbled
just a bit in the 3rd set only to recover in set 4 for the win over
the Buffalo NY visitors. A good combination of offense (.320
team hitting percentage) and defense (12 team blocks and 31 team
digs) helped seal the victory for the Raiders. Junior outside
hitter Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) paced the
Raiders with a team high 20 kills and 7 digs. The 6'4 outside
hitter also chipped in with 2 blocks and 1 service ace.
Senior setter Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT)
dished out 46 assists while picking up 7 digs and 2 service aces
while freshman Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) and
senior middle hitter Matt Ferreira (N. Providence,
RI) put down 13 and 11 kills respectively. Sophomore middle
hitter Alex Xenidis (Shelton, CT) was steady with
7 kills and a team high 8 blocks while classmate Drew
Corwin was consistent with 5 kills, 4 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace
serve, along with good passing. Senior libero Kyle
O'Neill (Long Beach, NY) and sophomore defensive
specialist Chris Convertito combined for 8 digs
and steady serve receive.
In the second match of the day it was the serve receive that
paved the way for the Raiders. Just 3 errors on 60 pass
attempts allowed for RIV to spread out the ball and hit for a
robust .456 percentage on offense. The quad combination of
O'Neill, Corwin, Visentin, and junior Steve Wood
(Spencerport, NY) passed dimes all match and combined for just 2 of
the Raiders 3 receive errors while also scooping up 17 of the
Raiders 29 digs. Middle hitters Ferreira and freshman
Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, CT) were dominant in the
middle with a 13 kill, 22 attempts, 0 error, .591 hitting
percentage and a 11 kill, 16 attempts, 1 error, .625 hitting
percentage effort respectively. Hansen dished out 46 assists
and Andreozzi had a team high 16 kills.
#7 Rivier College
3 30 30
22 30
Medaille College
1 23 22
30 28
#7 Rivier College
3 30 30
30
#11 Baruch College
0 22 26 24
Rivier will travel to Providence Rhode Island on Tuesday 1/19
for their first GNAC match of the year. Johnson & Wales
University will host the Raiders at 8:00pm.
