Oct. 11, 2010

Box Score

NASHUA, N.H. - The Rivier College Raiders defeated Emmanuel College 3-1 in a Columbus Day encounter to give the Saints their third GNAC loss of the season. The Raiders were led by Kenna Finlayson's (Derry, NH) 14 kills and Nicole Peacock's (Warwick, RI) 6 blocks as the Raiders took the best of 5 match with scores of 25-19, 25-8, 15-25 and 25-19.

The match started with the two teams trading points to get to 3-3, until Rivier setter Lauren Saccoccio (Warwick, RI) went on a four point serving run, including 2 aces to put the Raiders on top 7-3. For the rest of game one, the Saints couldn't get any closer than two points away as the Raiders pulled away to gain the 6 point win.

Set two was an explosion of Rivier serving. Freshman defensive specialist Jessica Amaral (E. Providence, RI) opened up the set on a 9 point serving run that wasn't ended until a Rivier hitting error made the score 9-1. From there, every Raider server scored at least 2 points on every rotation as the Raiders cruised to an easy 25-8 victory.

The third set saw an Emmanuel team with its back against the wall that wasn't going to go down without a fight. The Saints jumped out to a 10-5 lead on some tough serving by Megan Clary (Cumberland, RI) and Samantha Andazola (Queen Creek, AZ) and some good blocking by middle hitter Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, MA). The Raiders closed the gap to two at 8-10, but gave the lead right back on two service aces for Kathryne Olsen (Fairhaven, MA) and Jenna Ross (Centerburg, OH). The Raiders couldn't get out of their own way as the game got out of hand and a service ace, along with three hitting errors finished the game with the Saints on top 25-15.

The fourth set started to closely resemble the third a few service errors and hitting errors by the Raiders put Emmanuel on top 13-10 in the first half of the game. However, in this set the Raiders were able to regain their composure and push through the mistakes. A block by Peacock and Finlayson followed by a kill by Peacock tied the game at 13-13 and a Saccoccio service run put the Raiders on top 16-14. From there the Saints had a hard time handling the pressure and the Raiders were able to capitalize on some weak Emmanuel attacks and convert them into points. Sophomore Emileigh Cenedella (Townsend, MA) made the final push on a 4 point service run that put the Raiders up 24-17 and after a sideout and a kill by Emmanuel's Andazola, the Raiders closed the Match on a Danielle Jacques (Derry, NH) kills to take the set 25-19 and the match 3 games to 1.

Finlayson paced the Raiders, who improve to 13-8 overall and 7-0 in GNAC play, with 14 kills and added 4 blocks and 11 digs while senior Nicole Rodriguez (Newton, MA) added 11 kills and 3 blocks for the home team. Lauren Saccoccio dished out 39 assists and added 3 aces and Nicole Peacock led the team with 6 blocks and chipped in with 10 kills. Cenedella led Rivier on defense with 18 digs while Jessica Amaral led the team with 4 service aces. The Saints were led by Jenna Ross, who had 10 kills and 10 digs. Andazola had a team high 15 digs along with her 8 kills and Olsen tossed up 25 assists as the Saints fell to 9-12 overall and 2-3 in GNAC play.

Olsen is also very close to reaching a milestone as she needs only three more assists to earn 2,000 for her career.

The Raiders will travel to Johnson and Wales University on Thursday, October 14th at 7:00 pm for a battle of GNAC unbeatens. Both teams sport a perfect 7-0 record in GNAC play and will fight it out for first place in the conference. The Saints next match also comes against Johnson & Wales University as Emmanuel travels to Providence, RI on Saturday, October 16th for an 11:00 am start time.

-Courtesy of Rivier College Athletics.