NASHUA, N.H – The Rivier men's volleyball team went 2–0 in its home opener on Saturday afternoon, hosting Wheaton (Mass.) and Sage College for two nonconference victories.
With the loss, the Raiders improved to 4-4, while the Lyons moved to 0-1, and the Gators moved to 1-5.
Rivier 3, Wheaton (Mass.) 1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In the first set, the Raiders dominated offensively, opening on a 10-2 run highlighted by aces from first-year Kenji Clark and sophomore Cody Fitzpatrick, and capped by back-to-back kills from sophomore James Levesque.
- The Raiders took the momentum all the way through the first, stringing together rallies and only allowing the Lyons 13 points.
- The two sides traded points through most of the second set.
- Wheaton (Mass.) jumped out to a 5-3 lead but kills by senior Matthew McCloskey and junior Tyler Dickinson kept the Raiders within reach, tying the set at 10-10.
- The Raiders took their largest lead of the set, 20–16, with key kills from Dickinson and Levesque.
- The Lyons stayed in the set by capitalizing on attack errors and stringing together key rallies, earning a 26-24 win to tie the match 1-1.
- Sophomore Cade Barron opened the third set with four kills, helping the Raiders take a 10–3 lead.
- Rivier kept its foot on the gas, extending the lead to 23–13 before Clark closed the set with two aces to give the Raiders a 2–1 advantage.
- In the fourth and final set, the Lyons opened play on a 5–0 run.
- The Raiders rallied back to level the score at 8–8, highlighted by kills from Levesque and Barron.
- Wheaton (Mass.) stayed close with short rallies, but the Raiders held firm as McClosky delivered the final kill to secure the match.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Barron and Leveque lead the offense with 11 kills apiece.
- Junior Justin Barish contributed 21 assists, followed by first-year Shawn Laduke with 10.
- Clark had five key service aces.
- Junior Joseph Cruz led with eight digs, followed by Fitzpatrick with six and McCloskey with five.
Rivier 3, Sage 0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-15)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Rivier opened the match with early momentum behind the service line and with timely kills.
- After trading points through the opening rallies of the first set, the Raiders used a 5-0 run highlighted by a pair of aces from Cade Barron to build a 13-8 lead.
- Rivier continued to control the frame, with Tyler Dickinson and Matthew McCloskey each recording a kill to seal the 25-20 set victory.
- The Raiders continued to build off their momentum from the first set. A serving run from Kenji Clark and back-to-back kills from Cody Fitzpatrick pushed Rivier to an early 8-3 lead.
- The offense continued to surge, hitting a match-best .474 in the frame, with James Levesque, Fitzpatrick, and Dickinson all contributing multiple kills.
- After being held on match point for two consecutive rallies, Levesque secured the 2-0 match lead with his third kill of the set.
- The Raiders continued its strong play in the third set, jumping out to a 12-7 lead as a result of a service ace from Barron and key assists from Shawn Laduke.
- Down the stretch, McCloskey recorded two of his four kills in the stanza, while Levesque called game, 25-15, in a similar fashion to the second set, with a kill.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- McCloskey and Fitzpatrick each recorded a team-high seven kills is game two.
- Barron added three services aces to his total.
- Laduke contributed a career-best 16 assists, followed by Barish with 10.
- Joseph Cruz added a team-best four digs.
UP NEXT
The Raiders return to the court Wednesday, January 28, for their Raider Game as they host non-conference opponent No. 17 MIT at 6:00 p.m. at the Muldoon Center
