NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier women's volleyball team swept Mass. Maritime in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday night at the Muldoon Center by set scores of 25-18, 25-21, 25-17.
The victory evened the Raiders' record at 14-14 while the Buccaneers fell to 4-21.
The contest served as a Military Appreciation Game as the Rivier women's volleyball program raised money for the Semper Fi & America's Fund.
The Bucs called an early timeout in the first set as Rivier got out to a 4-1 lead using an ace, two kills, and a solo block. From there, Riv battled to take a nine-point lead on an ace by junior outside Ali Rivera, forcing Mass. Maritime to use its second and final timeout. After leading by as many as 10, Rivier allowed a four-point swing from their opposition to make It a 22-16 game. Riv would close the set as senior middle Lily Sills notched her fifth kill as she hit .833 in the frame.
Rivier would have to use a timeout while holding a narrow 17-15 lead in the second half, but a kill by senior setter Ryan Hicks and an ace by first-year Lily Seibel gave Riv a four-point cushion. An attack error on set point would kill a 4-0 run for the Raiders and allow MMA to keep things close as the Buccaneers scored the next four to make it 24-21. First-year Lydia Brakefield finished a feed from Hicks on the next rally to end the set and give the home side a 2-0 lead. Sophomore outside Sam Driend hit .600 in the set as she amassed four kills.
Following two Raiders' attack errors to tie the third at 6-all, Driend recorded a side-out allowing junior Kaitlyn Miller to step in to serve. Miller notched an ace in between a Driend kill and back-to-back Sills kills to make it 11-6. The game got to within two at 19-17, but Riv would roll past the Bucs with a 9-0 run to take the match. Driend capped off an impressive night with four kills on nine errorless attempts in the third.
Driend totaled eight kills at a .467 hitting percentage while notching four digs. Rivera posted eight kills while tying sophomore libero Hannah Raab in the digs category with 11 each. Sills finished with 16 kills at a .500 pace, leading the Raiders' offensive charge.
Rivier will cap off its regular-season with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Raiders will travel to Henniker, N.H. for a matchup with Simmons at 1:00 p.m. before taking on the host institution, New England Col., at 3:00 p.m.
