RAIDERS SQUARE OFF AGAINST 4 NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS - FINISH 2-2

Rochester, NY
#5 Rivier College (13-3 overall; 6-0 GNAC) went .500 at the Nazareth College Invitational to improve their overall record to 13-3 for the season.  RIV faced four top 15 Division III teams in what was their biggest test of the young season. 

In the first match of the tournament Rivier ran into a red hot #14 Medaille College who was looking to avenge and earlier season 3-0 loss to the Raiders.  The difference in the match was ball control - RIV struggled and Medaille didn't.  The Raiders held a lead throughout the first set but faltered in the end with a 32-34 loss.  Medaille got stronger in the next two sets while the Raiders couldn't keep up to gain any type of momentum.    Rhode Islanders Jared Andreozzi and Matt Ferreira led the Raider offense with 13 and 12 kills respectively while Long Islander John Furka followed with 10 kills.  Connecticut sophomore's Chris Convertito and Alex Xenidis led the Raiders defense with 9 digs and 5 blocks respectively and Rochester native Steve Wood played steady ball in the back row.

#5 Rivier College         0        32  22  26
#14 Medaille College   3        34  30  30

Rivier regrouped in the second match against #9 Stevens Institute of Technology to pick up their first victory over SIT since 2005.  Setter Zach Hansen directed the offense to a tournament high .343 hitting percentage while dishing out 41 assists and lacing in 3 service aces.  Jared Andreozzi scored a double double with a team high 20 kills and a team high 10 digs while freshman Taylor Lindner put down 10 kills with just 1 error on 15 attempts for a .600 hitting percentage all while blocking a team high 4 blocks.  Steve Visentin was consistent with 8 kills and no hitting errors while Andrew Paine played stellar in the back row with 6 digs, a perfect 5 for 5 on receive, and tough serving. 

#5 Rivier College                                  3        30  30  30
#9 Stevens Institute of Technology      0       26  28  26

In the second day of the tournament Rivier had the tough task of taking on #3 University of California Santa Cruz.  RIV battled early with solid blocking and consistent all around play but couldn't sustain the high level for the entire match and succumbed to a balanced UCSC squad in 3 straight sets.  Jared Andreozzi was the only Raider in double digits for kills with 13 while sophomore Drew Corwin played well with 7 kills and and a team high 9 digs.  Freshman Josh Baker was solid in 2 games off the bench with 5 kills and 2 blocks while senior libero Kyle O'Neill scooped up 8 digs. 

#5 Rivier College                                     0        26  22  22
#3 University of California Santa Cruz     3        30  30  30

Rivier wrapped up the weekend with a gritty 3-1 win over #10 Vassar College.  RIV had to dig deep and get past the mental and physical fatigue of the weekend to pull out the win.  Alex Xenidis gave RIV some life on the outside with a 13 kills, 7 dig, 5 block,and 22 for 22 on receive performance to spark the Raiders.  Classmate Chris Convertito also was a catalyst on defense with a team high 14 digs at the libero position while freshman Francis Dallatore made a difference on receive with a solid 16 for 16 performance.  Setter Zach Hansen distributed 56 assists while picking up 7 digs and Taylor Lindner put down 14 kills with a team high 6 blocks.

#5 Rivier College            3        30  27  30  30
#10 Vassar College        1        26  30  22  28

Junior Jared Andreozzi was named to the All Tournament Team for Rivier.

Rivier will return to GNAC action on Thursday 2/18 when they travel to Mt Ida College for a 7:00pm match.