Ali Rivera had a team high 22 digs in a tough five-set loss at Nichols on Thursday night. (Photo courtesy of Springfield and Rivier Athletics)

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Rivier women’s volleyball team fell to Nichols in a five-set thriller Thursday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the loss, the Raiders fell to 1-3, while the Bison improved to 2-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Nichols jumped out to an early 7-3, forcing Rivier into an early timeout.

The Raiders cut the Bison lead to two with sophomore Lily Seibel and senior Callie Nanos contributing kills. Nichols responded with a six-point rally to increase their lead to 17-9

Rivier fought back to within two once again, capitalizing on offensive errors by their opponents. The Bison charged out in front once more, scoring five of the last six points, capping off the opening set 25-19.

The second set began has a back and forth with both squads knotted up at 11

The Raiders began to pull away, all starting with kills by sophomore Lydia Brakefield and Savannah Dunne. Rivier never looked back, eventually taking the set 25-18 and evening the match at one game apiece.

An ace by Seibel and a kill from Dunne gave the Raiders the early 2-0 lead to begin the third set. Nichols responded with three straight points, followed by both squads trading chances until Seibel recorded back-to-back kills, giving Rivier the two point advantage for the second time in the set.

The Raiders got out to as much as a five-point lead before the Bison countered with a four-point rally to bring them within one.

Nichols rallied back to take the third set 25-23.Rivier remained out in front the entirety of the fourth set following the opening two points by the Bison

The Raiders began their charged with a nine-point rally that was capped off by kills from junior Sam Driend and Seibel.

Rivier never looked back taking the set 25-17, only allowing Nichols to come within five points. The Bison pulled away in the fifth set, stringing together two separate 3-0 runs.

Despite a late push from the Raiders, Nichols took the set 15-11 to secure the match.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Seibel recorded six kills with a .222 hitting percentage, 22 assists and 13 digs … Senior Ali Rivera, Driend, and Dunne each posted nine kills, with Rivera adding a team-high 22 digs and Driend contributing 18…

Senior Kaitlyn Miller added 16 digs to her season total…

Rivier held the slight edge in kills (45-43) and hitting percentage (.090-.083)…

On defense, the Raiders out dug the Bison 87-76.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to the court Saturday for a tri-math with Western Connecticut St. and Clark. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the William O’Neill Athletic Center.