(Beverly, MA) The #10 Rivier College Raider Men's Volleyball program earned wins over SUNY New Paltz and New Jersey City University over the weekend in the Endicott Invitational held on Endicott's campus in Beverly, MA.
Game One - #12 Hunter College 3, #10 Rivier College 0
In a battle of top 15 teams, Hunter College was able to steal three straight sets from Rivier - 28-26, 25-21 and 25-14.
Freshman Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA) hammered down 13 kills for the Raiders while junior Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) added 26 assists. Senior Alex Xenidis (Shelton, CT) contributed with 6 kills while senior libero Chris Convertito (Trumbull, CT) was solid on the defensive end as he led the team with 9 digs.
Game Two - #10 Rivier College 3, SUNY New Paltz 1
In the second game of the day, the Raiders defeated SUNY New Paltz, 3-1 to earn a split. The scores were 23-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-22.
Markuson again was his usual dominate self as he led the team with 22 kills. Senior Tajh Stokes (Salem, NH) added 10 kills as Rivier improved their record to 16-7 overall. Visentin continues to be the assist leader as he finished with 41 for the game and sophomore Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, NY) recorded 17 digs.
Game Three - #10 Rivier College 3, New Jersey City University 1
On day two of the invitational, the Raiders jumped all over NJCU as they won in four sets - 25-17, 25-19, 24-26 and 25-21.
Markuson and Stokes combined for 32 kills (22 and 10 respectively) as Rivier earned their 17th win of 2012. Visentin added 10 digs to his outstanding assist total, which was 49 and senior Andrew Corwin (Framingham, MA) was the dig leader with 14. There was plenty of help from the bench as sophomores Steven Coulson (Huntington Beach, CA) and Terrence Matatall (Danville, NH) had solid performances with 7 and 6 kills each.
Game Four - #5 Stevens Institute of Technology 3, #10 Rivier College 1
Four different Raiders recorded double digit kills but it was not enough to beat #5 Stevens in the final game of the Endicott Invitational.
Markuson was the team leader as he finished with 12 kills and 5 digs. Xenidis and Almario each added 11 kills while freshman Shane Spellman (Norwich, CT) down 10 kills. Corwin was the dig leader with 9 while the back court duo - Convertito and Bynon - recorded 15 combined digs.
The Men's Volleyball program will return to action on Thursday night as they put their undefeated GNAC mark (7-0) on line at Lasell College. Game time is set for 7pm
