RIVIER TOPS EMMANUEL TO WIN 2ND-STRAIGHT GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP
March 28, 2009
Nashua, N.H. – For the second consecutive season, the top-seeded Rivier College Men’s Volleyball Team defeated Emmanuel College to claim the 2009 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship. It was a hard fought battle, as the Saints gave it everything they had to try to slow the Raiders, but Rivier, the 3rd-ranked team in the nation, came away with the 3-0 win (30-26, 30-25, 30-23). The Raiders, who improved to 31-1 on the season, are favored to hold the top spot in next weekend’s North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Championship at MIT. The Saints, who are now 18-12 on the season, also received an automatic bid to the NECVA Tournament by virtue of their trip to the GNAC finals.
The start of game one was very much a back and forth battle as the score remained close. Rivier finally broke off a run in the middle of the match with some strong blocking and hitting from senior middle hitter Scott Wright (Salem, N.H.) to push the Raiders’ lead to five points at 23-18. Rivier extended the lead further before Emmanuel started on a short run of its own. However it proved to be too late, as Rivier was able to hold off the Saints for the 30-26 victory.
The second frame featured Rivier jumping out to a quick 14-7 lead behind some strong serving by freshman Drew Corwin and sophomore Austin Soucy. Rivier led by as many as 11 in the set, but some late strong attacks by Emmanuel’s sophomore outside hitter Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), junior outside hitter Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, Va.) and sophomore middle Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) chipped away at Rivier’s lead before they eventually put the game away on an Austin Soucy kill, ending the set at, 30-25.
Emmanuel jumped out to a short lead 4-2 in set three before Rivier came back to tie the game at 6-6. From there it was strong net play by middle hitter’s Wright and Matt Ferreira, who combined for 8 blocks in the match, as well as strong defense by libero Kyle O’Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) and defensive specialist Chris Convertito (Trumbull, Conn.) that helped to seal the game and the match for Rivier. Ferreira ended the match at 30-23 on a kill from the middle.
Setter Zach Hansen (Shelton, Conn.) paced the Raider attack with 39 assists and also chipped in with 1 service ace and 6 digs. Outside hitter Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, R.I.) led the Raiders in kills with 11, while fellow classmate Austin Soucy (Toland, Conn.) added 10 kills of his own, to go along with 9 digs. Middle hitter Matt Ferreira (Lincoln, R.I.) also tallied 10 kills with Wright chipping in with 9 kills and 5 block.
The Saints were led by Townsend’s 13 kills and 3 blocks, while setter Taylor Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) dished out 27 assists. Sophomore libero Jacob DeLuise (Wakefield, R.I.) picked up a team-high 9 digs and freshman middle hitter Alexander Petty (Wayland, Mass.) put back 3 blocks. Lowe and Abram were named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team for Emmanuel. Soucy and Hansen received All-Tournament Team honors for Riv, while Wright was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Both Rivier and Emmanuel have qualified for next weekend’s NECVA Championship Tournament, which invites the top 16 teams from the five NECVA divisions. The tournament will begin on Friday April 3, 2009 at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.
2009 GNAC Men’s Volleyball All-Tournament Team:
Joseph Lipski – Lasell College
Sean Lauro – Johnson & Wales University
Curtis Abram – Emmanuel College
Taylor Lowe – Emmanuel College
Austin Soucy – Rivier College
Zach Hansen – Rivier College
Tournament MVP: Scott Wright – Rivier College