Rivier's Ava Noble (21) celebrates a goal as the Raiders rolled past Dean Tuesday at Merrill Field. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – The Rivier women’s soccer team earned a decisive 9-0 GNAC victory over the Dean Bulldogs Tuesday evening at Joanne Merrill Field.

With this result, Rivier improved to 6-4-2 overall (5-1-1 GNAC), while Dean fell to 2-8-1 (1-4-1 GNAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Raiders netted five goals in the opening half

Sophomore Leah Morrier opened the scoring for the Raiders in the 7th minute, adding another three minutes later on a feed from first-year Bailey Gatchell to make it 2-0

Gatchell followed up with a goal of her own in the 13th minute

Graduate student Samantha Franks and sophomore Ava Noble rounded out the first half scoring, making it 5-0 at the break

Junior Maya Leach found twine for the first time this season 13 minutes into the second half

Sophomore Ciarra Terry notched her first goal of her collegiate career from outside the 18-yard box to take a 7-0 lead

First-years Bianca Casna and Ava Carvalho linked up for Rivier’s eighth goal

In the final minute, senior goalkeeper Bri Nugent capped off the night with her first collegiate goal, as the Raiders tied the single-game scoring record of nine goals, set in 2012

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

First-year goalkeeper Olivia Rosario earned her first collegiate clean sheet

The Raiders outshot the Bulldogs 36-2

The Raiders held a slight edge in corner kicks, 5-3.

UP NEXT

The Raiders travel to Albertus Magnus for a GNAC matchup on Saturday afternoon at Celentano Field in New Haven, Connecticut. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

RIVIER 3, SIMMONS 0

With conference the win at the Holmes Sports Center in Boston, the Raiders improved to 9-9 (4-0 GNAC), while the Sharks fell 3-12 (2-3 GNAC).

Ironically, Simmons opened the match with an 11-2 run. Senior Callie Nanos recorded two kills in a five-point service run to bring Rivier within five, and the Raiders continued to chip away at the Sharks’ lead as a result of kills by first-year Reagan Pepin and junior Sam Driend.

Rivier tied the set at 20-20 with back-to-back kills from Nanos and never trailed again, securing a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set saw six tie scores and four lead changes. The Raiders held a slight three-point advantage to begin the frame. Rivier started to pull ahead at the midway point of the second set, largely in part of an 8-0 run that included kills from Driend, sophomore Savannah Dunne, and a pair of aces from sophomore Lily Seibel.

Simmons battled back late in the frame, tying the set up 24-24. Following a Raiders’ timeout, Dunne hit home the set point to go up 2-0 in the match

Both teams battled once again to begin the third set with the score deadlocked, 9-9.Three kills from Seibel, an ace from Nanos, and two consecutive kills from sophomore Lydia Brakefield put the Raiders in front 17-11, forcing the Sharks into a timeout.

The Rivier offense continued to surge for the remaining rallies in the set

Nanos contributed a pair of kills to seal the match, 25-14.

Nanos led the offense with a career-high 14 kills on a .417 hitting percentage. Driend added seven kills with a .353 clip, with Dunne close behind with five kills and a .444 hitting percentage.

Seibel contributed 28 assists, with three service aces while defensively, junior Lacey Turner posted a career-high 20 digs.

The Raiders return to action for a GNAC tri-match with Saint Joseph’s (Me.) and Norwich on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Harold Alfond Center. The first match is set for 11 a.m.