(Nashua, NH) The Rivier University Men's Volleyball team cruised to a 3-1 win over visiting Mount Ida College before handling Lasell College in three straight sets this evening in front of about 100 spectators inside the Muldoon Gymnasium. The win extends the Raiders' Great Northeast Athletic Conference winning streak to 22 straight games.
The Raiders welcomed back former assistant coach, now current Mount Ida Head Coach, Craig Martin in the opening game of the night in grand fashion. Rivier received a 10 kill performance from sophomore Chris Markuson (Cupertino, CA) and 40 assists from freshman Mike Hadder (Yucaipa, CA) as they took the four set match 25-16, 22-25, 25-11, 25-20. Junior Terence Matatall (Danville, NH) added 8 kills and the Tutino brothers combined for 11 kills (Matt Tutino with 6 and Brendan Tutino had 5). Junior Daniel Elitharp (Eastport, NY) paced the defensive efforts with 9 digs.
Mount Ida was led by Spencer Hastings who had 14 kills, a game high. Brady Rodriguez added 28 assists and Jimmy Wessel collected 11 digs. The Mustangs now fall to 4-11 overall on the season and 0-5 in the GNAC with tonight's loss.
In their second half of the doubleheader Rivier easily handled Lasell in straight sets, 25-22, 25-17, 25-8. The Raiders offense received solid efforts from big men Aaron Almario (Alhambra, CA) and Markuson on a night in which the team would have a .596 kill percentage, a season high. Almario had 11 kills while Markuson led the way with 13 kills and 3 digs. Senior Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) had 29 assists for the Raiders and added 4 digs.
After a close first set, Lasell struggled to keep pace with the efficient Raider attack. Dan Raffol led Lasell with 9 kills and 5 digs. Ryan Jackson and Matt Dugan both had 12 assists for the Lasers and senior Alex Mill contributed 6 kills and the team's lone block on the night. Lasell falls to .500 at 5-5 overall and suffers their first GNAC loss of the season.
The Raiders will return to action at the Endicott Invitational on March 9th and 10th in Beverly, Massachusetts. The Mount Ida Mustangs will face the Lasell Lasers in their next scheduled match-up on March 5th at Lasell in Newton, Massachusetts.
