DUDLEY, Mass. – The Rivier women's volleyball team fell to Nichols in a five-set thriller Thursday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the loss, the Raiders fell to 1-3, while the Bison improved to 2-1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nichols jumped out to an early 7-3, forcing Rivier into an early timeout.
• The Raiders cut the Bison lead to two with sophomore Lily Seibel and senior Callie Nanos contributing kills
• Nichols responded with a six-point rally to increase their lead to 17-9
• Rivier fought back to within two once again, capitalizing on offensive errors by their opponents
• The Bison charged out in front once more, scoring five of the last six points, capping off the opening set 25-19
• The second set began has a back and forth with both squads knotted up at 11
• The Raiders began to pull away, all starting with kills by sophomore Lydia Brakefield and Savannah Dunne
• Rivier never looked back, eventually taking the set 25-18 and evening the match at one game apiece
• An ace by Seibel and a kill from Dunne gave the Raiders the early 2-0 lead to begin the third set
• Nichols responded with three straight points, followed by both squads trading chances until Seibel recorded back-to-back kills, giving Rivier the two point advantage for the second time in the set
• The Raiders got out to as much as a five-point lead before the Bison countered with a four-point rally to bring them within one
• Nichols rallied back to take the third set 25-23
• Rivier remained out in front the entirety of the fourth set following the opening two points by the Bison
• The Raiders began their charged with a nine-point rally that was capped off by kills from junior Sam Driend and Seibel
• Rivier never looked back taking the set 25-17, only allowing Nichols to come within five points
• The Bison pulled away in the fifth set, stringing together two separate 3-0 runs
• Despite a late push from the Raiders, Nichols took the set 15-11 to secure the match

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

• Seibel recorded six kills with a .222 hitting percentage, 22 assists and 13 digs
• Senior Ali Rivera, Driend, and Dunne each posted nine kills, with Rivera adding a team-high 22 digs and Driend contributing 18
• Senior Kaitlyn Miller added 16 digs to her season total
• Rivier held the slight edge in kills (45-43) and hitting percentage (.090-.083)
• On defense, the Raiders out dug the Bison 87-76

UP NEXT
The Raiders return to the court Saturday, Sept. 6 for a tri-math with Western Connecticut St. and Clark. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the William O'Neill Athletic Center.