Rivier Takes Down Division 1 Harvard, Raise Money for Haiti

Nashua, NH – It was business appreciation night at Rivier College as the Raiders hosted Division I Harvard University.  The Raiders invited the entire business department to the game for some VIP seating and gifts as the Raiders took on Harvard University in an exciting men’s volleyball matchup.  In an effort to raise money for the Haiti earthquake relief efforts, the Raiders also sponsored the “Tie One On” event.  Over 100 neck ties were brought to the game and given to fans for their monetary donation.  Ties were everywhere as close to 100 fans turned out to show their support.  All proceeds were donated to Haiti through Catholic Relief Services.

Rivier College, ranked #6 in Division III volleyball, took down Division I Harvard University tonight in men’s volleyball action at Rivier College in Nashua, NH.  Rivier kept Harvard off balance with good serving and a well balanced offensive attack throughout the night on their way to a 3-1 victory. 

The first set saw Rivier jump out 4-0 behind the serving of sophomore Andrew Paine (Quincy, MA).  Paine kept the Crimson out of system for the first 2 points, then aced two in a row to give the Raiders the lead.  Two kills from Matt Jones (La Jolla, CA) brought the score to 5-2, but the Crimson wouldn’t get much closer throughout the first set as steady passing by the home team and a number of service errors by Harvard finished the game 30-24 in favor of Rivier.

Set 2 saw the Raiders and the Crimson trade points for the first 5 points of the game, with Rivier taking the 3-2 advantage, junior Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) then took Rivier on a 4 point run with 2 service aces and 2 attack errors by Crimson players.  After a Crimson timeout, Harvard sided out to make the score 7-3 on an Erik Kuld (Toronto, Ont.) kill, but the Raiders struck right back as Drew Corwin (Sudbury, MA) registered a kill of his own for Rivier.  The Raiders went up by 7 halfway through the game as an Andreozzi kill, followed by another Andreozzi service ace put the Raiders up 16-9.  The Crimson would not go quietly, however, as a service error by Andreozzi was followed by a Paul Glootz (Stassfurt, Germany) kill and 4 Rivier attack errors to bring Harvard to within 2 at 18-16.  Rivier then buckled down with Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, CT) and Alex Xenidis (Shelton, CT) combining for 2 of the teams next 3 blocks to surge the Raiders ahead again.  Harvard committed 5 hitting errors in the final 10 points to help the Raiders take the second set 30-22.

The Raiders struggled in set three as Soren Rosier (San Diego, CA) and Gil Weintraub (Encino, CA) went on serving runs at different points throughout the set.  Despite poor passing from the Raiders and a match high 7 hitting errors, the Raiders were tied at 22-22 when Rob Lothman (Glendale, MO) served 4 in a row for the Crimson and put them up 26-22.  Harvard took set three with a Weintraub kill 30-24.

Senior Matt Ferreira (Lincoln, RI) set the tone for the Raiders at the start of set 4 as he took a set from setter Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT) and put it to the floor.  The Crimson responded with a Nicola Ivica (Pancevo, Serbia) kill and the teams traded points until Kyle O’Neill (Long Beach, NY) put the Raiders up 5-3 on a service ace.  The Raiders continued to claw their way into the lead and after a Hansen service ace, the Raiders had a 12-7 advantage.  The Raiders maintained a 5-6 point advantage for the remainder of the game as Andreozzi put down the final kill of the set to give the Raiders the 30-24 win and a 3-1 match victory.

Junior Jared Andreozzi led all hitters with 18 kills for the Raiders while senior Matt Ferreira added 13 kills for a .417 hitting percentage.  Setter Zach Hansen dished out 45 assists and shared a team high 4 service aces with Andreozzi.  Sophomore Drew Corwin had a break out night as he dropped 11 kills with only 1 hitting error for a .667 hitting percentage and also passes well with 31 attempts and zero errors.  Taylor Lindner chipped in with 10 kills and 5 blocks while Alex Xenidis added 8 kills and 4 blocks.  Libero Chris Convertito (Trumbull, CT) picked up 4 digs while passing 21 for 22 on serve receive. 

Matt Jones and Nicola Ivica set the pace for the Crimson, with each hammering in 14 kills while Erik Kuld added 12 of his own.  Gil Weintraub dished out 41 assists in the defeat.  The Crimson could only pick up 4 service aces in the match compared to 12 by the Raiders.  Harvard was also out blocked as the Raiders put back 8, compared to only 4 for the Crimson. 

The Raiders improve to 24-7 on the season while the Crimson fall to 1-11.  The Raiders will travel to Connecticut on Friday to take on Division I Sacred Heart University.  The Raiders won the first meeting between the two teams this season 3-2 in January.