WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TO FACE RIVIER IN GNAC TOURNEY
BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team is set to travel to Nashua, N.H. for Tuesday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterifinal match up against No. 2 Rivier University set for 7:00 PM. The Saints advance to the GNAC Quarters for the 18th consecutive season while the Raiders will look to make their 14th straight trip to the Semifinals by holding seed.
BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team is set to travel to Nashua, N.H. for Tuesday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterifinal match up against No. 2 Rivier University set for 7:00 PM. The Saints advance to the GNAC Quarters for the 18th consecutive season while the Raiders will look to make their 14th straight trip to the Semifinals by holding seed.
PLAYOFF HISTORY
Tuesday marks the 12th meeting between the two programs in GNAC tournament action with Rivier owning a 7-4 record in the 11 meetings to date. The squads have faced off twice in the GNAC quarterfinals, splitting those matches with Emmanuel taking the meeting in 2000, 3-0, and Rivier owning a 3-0 win in 2007. In five GNAC semifinals meetings, Rivier is 4-1 against Emmanuel with wins in 2015, 2011, 2008 & 2002 with the Saints taking the meeting in 2004. The other four meetings have come in GNAC Championship games with the Saints claiming the crown in 2005 & 2006 while the Raiders earned wins in 2003 & 2007.
The Raiders are 31-10 all-time in GNAC tournament play with Championships in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013 & 2014 while Emmanuel is 24-14 with Championships in 2004, 2005 & 2006.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
In their regular season meeting, the Raiders posted a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-13) win just a week ago powered by a combined 33 kills from seniors Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) and Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.). The Saints hung with Rivier for the opening two sets before giving way to the perennial GNAC powerhouse.
For the EC to compete, they'll need a strong effort from their two key hitters in sophomore Mary Shelow (Miami, Fla.) and senior Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.). When the pair gets going in the middle, it has opened up more opportunities on the outside for hitters like senior Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.) and freshman Marissa Cataldo (Melrose, Mass.).
Rivier's success starts with their senior floor general in sophomore setter Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y). The setter leads the GNAC with 954 helpers averaging over 10 assists per set. Three players on the 2016 roster average over 2.00 kills per set including Silverman's 3.49 kills per set which ranks fifth in the GNAC. She also has 110 total blocks which is also second in the conference.
THE DETAILS
The match is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start at Muldoon Gymnasium on the Rivier University campus. The winner of the quarterfinal match will take on the winner of the No. 3 Anna Maria College vs. No. 6 Saint Joseph's College (ME) match up at the site of the highest remaining seed on Thursday, November 3.
To watch the game online, click the link below to stream the game on your device: