Hyannis, MA - The Rivier College Raiders (31-9 overall, 11-1 GNAC) fell in the third round of the NECVA Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament to a red hot Philadelphia Biblical squad who advances to the tournament finals on Sunday. The Raiders went 2-1 on the weekend en route to their semi-final exit from the tournament.

Match 1: First Round
#1 Rivier College - 3    30  30  30
#16 NJCU - 0               15  21  20

The Raiders of Rivier College, seeded #1 in the tournament, swept the Gothic Knights of New Jersey City University in the opening match to improve to 29-8 overall, advancing to Saturday's match-up with Medaille College. Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) led the team hitting .692 with 19 kills on 26 attempts and only one error. The team combined for 55 kills with only six errors on 97 attempts (.505), while the Gothic Knights hit .080 with 35 kills and 26 errors on 113 attempts. Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT)dished out a team high 40 assists and led the team's defense with 13 digs for the double-double. Matt Ferreira (North Providence, RI) added 11 kills of his own and Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, CT)added to the team's offensive attack with nine. Lindner recorded five total blocks in the win. Jose Matta (Puerto Rico) led the Gothic Knights with 11 kills and ten digs for a double-double of his own while Jorge Rodriguez (Cuba) assisted on 16 points. Austin Bryant (Virginia Beach, VA) chipped in nine kills and six digs.

Match 2: Quarterfinals
#1 Rivier College - 3       30  30  21  30
#8 Medaille College - 1   21  27  30  21

The #1 seeded Raiders of Rivier College went on to defeat Medaille College in the opening match-up of day two of the 2010 championship tournament.  This marks the fourth time this season that these 2 teams have met, with Rivier holding the 2-1 advantage in the three games prior to the tournament.  Rivier took the match 3-1 and advanced to the semi-finals at 4pm and faced off with PBU for a chance to play in the finals on Sunday at 1pm. The Raiders combined for 59 kills and hit .214 over Medaille's .160 with 52 total kills on 144 attempts with 29 errors. Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) led the Raiders with 17 kills while Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, CT) and Matt Ferreira (North Providence, RI) added 13 and 11 respectively. Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT)dished out 49 assists and added ten digs in the win. Andrew Nawotka (Grand Island, NY) led Medaille with 14 kills and Ryan Murdie (Kenmore, NY) chipped in 13 of his own while Ryan Maxwell (Amherst, NY) dished out 45 assists. Nawotka picked up nine digs leading the defense.

Match 3: Semifinals
#1 Rivier College - 2    30  15  30  23  12
#4 Phila. Biblical - 3     24  30  28  30  15

The #4 seeded Crimson Eagles of PBU knocked the #1 seed out of the 2010 tournament Saturday afternoon in five sets, earning a spot in the final match-up Sunday at 1pm verse #15 Nazareth College. Justin Brubaker led PBU to the victory recording 37 kills and only five errors on 53 attempts hitting .604 in the win. Leandro Dueck recorded 16 kills of his own as the duo combined for 53 of the team's 71 kills. The team hit .381 in the match-up while Rivier hit 63-137 with 28 errors. Jared Andreozzi Barrington, RI) recorded a team-high 20 kills for the Raiders hitting .317 on the night. Matt Ferreira (North Providence, RI) contributed 18 kills and Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, CT) added 12 to the mix while setter Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT) dished out 58 assists. Rivier's defense was led by Kyle O'Neill (Long Beach, NY) who picked up ten digs while Brubaker led the Crimson Eagles with 11 digs and five blocks.

Seniors Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT) and Matt Ferreira (North Providence, RI) were named to the NECVA All-Tournament First Team while junior Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI)was named to the NECVA All-Tournament Second Team.  Hansen averaged 12.2 assists per game, led the team with 30 digs and added 13 blocks during the tournament.  Ferreira had 40 kills and a team best .408 hitting percentage along with a team high 18 blocks on the weekend while Andreozzi led the team with 56 kills for a .371 hitting percentage and chipped in with 10 blocks and 27 digs.  The Raiders finish their season with a 31-9 overall record.