The Rivier women's volleyball team will try to regroup after falling to Emmanuel 3-1 on Thursday night in Boston. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

BOSTON, Mass. — The Rivier women’s volleyball team dropped a four-set battle to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Emmanuel (Mass.) Thursday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center.

With the loss, the Raiders fell to 14-13 (8-3 GNAC), while the Saints improved to 24-1 (10-0 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rivier came out strong in the opening set, as four different Raiders recorded kills to put jump ahead 8-4 but Emmanuel answered with a 9-1 run to take the lead. The Raiders regained the lead behind kills from seniors Ali Rivera and Callie Nanos, but Emmanuel (Mass.) hung on to take the set on the back of a 7-4 run, 25-23.

The Saints carried that momentum into the second, using a 5-1 run to open the frame. A 6-0 run in the middle of the set propelled Emmanuel (Mass.) ahead 14-6. Despite five Raiders recording kills down the stretch, the Saints maintained their advantage and claimed the second set, 25-15

Rivier bounced back in the third, outhitting Emmanuel (Mass.) .176 to .000 as a team.

The Raiders capitalized on miscues that fueled a 9-4 run to take a 14-8 lead

The Saints battled back at the halfway mark of the third set to take their first lead of the set since the opening point.

First-year Emma Zeblisky sparked an 11-1 run that decided the set with a kill, followed by junior Sam Driend and Nanos adding two kills each, and an eight-point service run from first-year Reagan Pepin to cut down the Saints’ match lead to one.

The fourth set went back and forth with 10 ties and Rivier holding a slight edge through the midway point. Emmanuel (Mass.) did not back down and took control late in the stanza, 23-19.

The Raiders responded with three straight points but a kill and a pair of blocks put Rivier’s comeback bid to rest, claiming the match 25-22.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Rivera led the offense with 11 kills with a .250 hitting percentage, adding 18 digs…Nanos followed closely behind with 11 kills and three total blocks…Sophomore Lily Seibel posted a double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs…Defensively, senior Kaitlyn Miller anchored the defense with a team-high 19 digs.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to action on Saturday for their penultimate match of the regular season. First serve against GNAC foe New England Col. is set for 11:00 a.m. inside the Muldoon Center.