Most of these Rivier men's volleyball players have huddled for the last time as they fell to Wentworth in Saturday's GNAC Finals. (File photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

BOSTON, Mass. – The Rivier University men’s volleyball team had its emotional season come to a close in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship as it fell to No. 3 Wentworth, the tournament’s top seed, in straight sets on Saturday afternoon at Tansey Gymnasium.

The third-seeded Raiders finished their season with a 19-14 overall record as a result of the 25-22, 25-15, 25-22 Wentworth sweep, and following the controversial mid-season firing of their coach, Craig Kolek, will say good-bye to a senior nucleus. The Leopards, meanwhile, are now 30-1 and receive the GNAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Raiders senior setter Neil Rea said. “We overcame so much adversity throughout the season and earned our spot in the title match. Although it didn’t fall our way, I still have great pride in the fight that we put up against one of the top teams in the nation.”

After trailing by 13-5 in the first set, the Raiders used a 7-1 run to make it a two-point game and force the Leopards into a timeout. Rivier would tie the set at 18-all on a kill by Neil Rea. Wentworth used kills from Sam Etter, Nicolai Bell, and a Riv attack error to regain a three-point lead and force Rivier into a timeout. The Raiders battled to within one as Sokunbuth Ly notched a kill to make it 22-21, causing Wentworth to take a timeout. Narrowly leading 23-22, the Leopards’ Jacob Waga made it set point before an attack error on the other side of the net closed out the opening frame. Wentworth put together seven team blocks in the first set while hitting .310 as a team.

Wentworth turned it up a notch in the second set, jumping out to a 16-7 lead before cruising to a 25-15 triumph. The Leopards hit at a .345 clip while limiting the Raiders to a -.208 percentage.

Rivier battled in the third set as its season was on the line. After falling behind 12-6, an 8-4 Raiders rally cut their deficit to just two as Wentworth called a timeout to regroup. Riv would tie the set at 18-18 and 19-19 before back-to-back kills from Jacob LaBouliere put the Leopards on top for good. Wentworth’s win was capped off with a kill from LaBouliere, who would later be named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Rea had 20 assists while notching eight digs, two kills, and two block assists. Isaac Borges put together a team-high nine digs while recording five kills and a solo block. Ly finished with 10 kills and eight digs while helping on one block. Chris Lezon hit at a .429 clip, registering seven kills with a block assist to his credit. Racine Camara tacked on two kills at a .500 clip with a dig and a block assist. Peter White had six digs while posting a .968 reception percentage, successfully passing 30-of-31 serves.

Now the program will try to regroup, under new leadership. Riv will graduate seven players in May and will look to regroup to return to the GNAC title match next season. But this team left its mark.

“This playoff run felt very special and I will never forget the moments along the way, playing for my first GNAC championship was something I’ll always cherish,” Rea said. “I’m thankful for the guidance that Coach Kolek and many others have provided me and our team throughout our journey here at Rivier, and will never forget those that stood with us and had our backs.”

(Telegraph Staff Writer Tom King contributed to this report.)

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