NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's volleyball team secured the third seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament and will host No. 6 Regis (Mass.) on Tuesday night at the Muldoon Center.
The Raiders closed the regular season with a 13-11 overall record and a 5-2 mark in GNAC play. The Pride finished 15-14 overall, including a 2-5 conference record. Rivier and Regis met once during the regular season, with the Raiders earning a sweep on Feb. 26.
Junior
Tyler Dickinson led the GNAC with a .424 hitting percentage, totaling a team-high 178 kills (2.14 per set) and 95 blocks (1.14 per set). Senior
Matthew McCloskey followed with a .346 hitting percentage, 140 kills (1.75 per set), and 56 blocks (0.70 per set).
Running the Rivier offense, junior setter
Justin Barish recorded 487 assists (6.41 per set), leading the team and ranking sixth in the conference in total assists. At the service line, sophomore
Cade Barron and first-year
Kenji Clark paced the Raiders with 25 and 23 service aces, respectively.
Defensively, sophomore
Cody Fitzpatrick led Rivier with 110 digs (1.51 per set), followed closely by junior libero
Joseph Cruz with 102 digs. Cruz also anchored the serve receive, tallying 407 receptions with a .946 reception percentage.
For Regis, sophomore outside hitter Adam Bonica leads the offense with 2.86 kills per set and a .228 hitting percentage. Junior setter Evan Shank tops both the Pride and the GNAC with 9.40 assists per set. Defensively, senior outside hitter Jalen Watts leads the team with 1.51 digs per set, while a junior outside hitter has recorded a team-high 461 receptions.
Rivier holds a 15-3 advantage in the all-time series against Regis (Mass.) dating back to 2016, including a 7-1 record at home.
The winner of Tuesday night's quarterfinal will advance to face No. 2 seed Wentworth in the GNAC semifinals on Thursday, April 9.