NASHUA, N.H. – Saint Joseph's College (10-8, 4-2 GNAC) fell to Rivier University (9-8, 5-2 GNAC), 3-0, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) volleyball action at the Muldoon Center on Saturday. The Raiders prevailed by set scores of 25-15, 25-22, and 25-17.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Rivier hit .294 with 12 kills and just two attack errors in the opening set to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set featured 10 ties and five lead changes. Saint Joseph's grabbed a 21-19 advantage following a kill by senior Greta Mackintosh (Plymouth, Mass.), but Rivier responded with three consecutive points. Junior Riley Greenley (Newark, Del.) delivered a kill to tie the set at 22-22 before the Raiders claimed the final three points.
The Monks held a 10-9 lead in the third frame, but Rivier pulled ahead and eventually extended its advantage to 21-16. A kill by freshman Lindsay Levesque (Arundel, Maine) interrupted the run before the hosts closed the match with four straight points.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Mackintosh led the Monks with nine kills on 27 attempts for a .185 hitting percentage.
- Freshman Sophia Fallon (New Canaan, Conn.) recorded five kills, two digs, and a block assist.
- Levesque contributed four kills, a solo block, and a block assist.
- Sophomore Maddie Garrett (Euless, Texas) handed out a team-high 15 assists and added two service aces and four digs.
- Greenley tallied eight digs, four assists, and a kill.
- Senior Jessica Christman (Virginia Beach, Va.) collected eight digs and three assists, while sophomore Addison Thomas (London, Ohio) added eight digs and three kills.
- Senior Larisa Comolli (Nashua, N.H.) finished with three kills, four digs, and two block assists.
LEADERS – RIVIER:
- Ashlee Salafia paced the Raiders with 10 kills and three block assists.
- Sam Driend registered nine kills on 28 attempts and hit .250.
- Lily Seibel posted 22 assists, 12 digs, three service aces, and two total blocks.
- Mollie Miner collected a match-high 15 digs.
- Reagan Pepin added four service aces and eight digs.
- Ava Pohopek contributed three kills and four total blocks.
TEAM STATS:
Rivier held the advantage in kills (30-28), assists (27-26), service aces (10-3), digs (55-52), and total blocks (7-3). The Raiders hit .128 while the Monks posted a .009 hitting percentage.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 6-26 all-time against Rivier. The setback snapped the Monks' two-match winning streak in the series after 3-1 victories in each of the previous two seasons.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's hosts New England College in a GNAC match on Thursday, October 15, at 6:00 PM. The contest will serve as the Monks' Dig Pink Game at the Harold Alfond Center.
