The Rivier women's volleyball team was in a celebratory mood thanks to their 3-2 win over Emmanuel on Wednesday night at the Muldoon Center. (Courtesy photo by Kyle Prudhomme/Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – The Rivier women’s volleyball team prevailed in a five-set Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) affair with Emmanuel (Mass.) on Wednesday night at the Muldoon Center.

The Raiders improved to 10-7 (5-1 GNAC) while the visiting Saints dropped to 11-5 (4-2 GNAC). Rivier advanced to 21-7 in the all-time series with 14 of those victories coming on home court.

The Saints took the first set, 25-18, as the Raiders offense was stifled, producing a -.094 hitting percentage in the opening game. Emmanuel’s Isabella Marquez notched 11 kills at a .500 clip to boost her team to an early match lead.

Rivier led for most of the second set, with the Saints briefly tying things up at 11-11. From there, a Brynne Roche kill sparked a 4-0 swing for the Raiders which forced Emmanuel to call a timeout. Despite a late scare from the Saints, Rivier finished the set on a 6-1 run to seal a 25-19 victory, tying the match at 1-1. Roche hit .500 in the frame with four kills as fellow senior Ryan Hicks produced 11 assists. Sophomore libero Hannah Raab also registered seven digs.

The third set proved to be highly-contested with 12 tie scores and six lead changes as Emmanuel took a 2-1 lead and forced the Raiders to the brink of elimination. After Rivier led 22-20, the Saints rallied to register the next five points to take the advantage into the fourth set.

Rivier notched five of its 13 service aces in the fourth to help stave off the Saints and send the match to a fifth and final game with a 25-20 win. Junior Ali Rivera and sophomore Sam Driend each notched two apiece while Hicks added one of her own.

The fifth set was back-and-forth from start to finish, however, Rivier was able to close things out after leading 14-12 as Rivera notched a cross-court kill on a feed from senior middle Lily Sills to seal a 15-13 win for the squad’s fifth conference victory of the campaign. Sills and Rivera each notched three kills in the fifth.

Sills finished with 12 kills at a .240 clip with two solo blocks and four block assists. Raab was also a major player on defense, finishing with 17 digs. Hicks totaled 32 assists as the Raiders hit .220 in the match.

Rivier returns to home court for a non-conference tri-match on Saturday against Babson (11 a.m.) and Nichols (3 p.m.). The Raiders will celebrate its senior class with Senior Day festivities prior to their matchup against the Bison.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

COLBY-SAWYER 5, RIVIER 1

The Raiders’ loss in New London marked the first conference defeat of the season, with the team previously notching a 7-0-1 ledger in GNAC play. The streak had matched their program-best unbeaten streak, going 5-0-1 over the past six games.

With the result, Rivier now stands at 7-4-3 overall (7-1-1 GNAC), while Colby-Sawyer improved to 6-4-4 (4-2-3 GNAC).

Colby-Sawyer started strong, creating chances early and often, and eventually broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute. The Chargers outshot the Raiders 8-1 and earned seven corners in the opening forty-five minutes.

The Chargers kept pushing the Raider defense, adding three more goals in quick succession to take a 4-0 lead with 19 minutes to play. Senior Samantha Franks halted the run, scoring her third goal of the season to make it 4-1. Bridget O’Connell responded in the 86th minute, scoring her fourth goal of the game to seal the 5-1 win for Colby-Sawyer.

Junior goalkeeper Bri Nugent recorded seven saves in the match.

The Raiders turn their focus to Senior Day on Saturday as they prepare for a matchup against Albertus Magnus at Merrill Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER

COLBY-SAWYER 1, RIVIER 0

With their third shot of the game, the Chargers found the back of the net in the 55th minute, taking a 1-0 lead. The Raiders had several opportunities to equalize but were unable to finish

With the loss, the Raiders dropped to 4-4-4 (2-3-3 GNAC) while the Chargers jumped to 5-8-0 (2-6-0 GNAC).

Despite limiting the Chargers to no shot attempts in the first half, the Raiders were unable to capitalize on any of their six chances, sending the game into halftime with a 0-0 score line.

Junior goalkeeper Logan Clough recorded one save in the contest.

The Raiders are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 12, as they get set to face Dean on Senior Day at Merrill Field. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.