Rivier's Juju Nealy, bringing the ball up, tallied her 1,000th career point in Saturday's loss at Regis. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – The Rivier men’s volleyball team went 2-0 in its home opener on Saturday afternoon, hosting Wheaton (Mass.) and Sage College for two nonconference victories.

With the wins, the Raiders improved to 4-4, while the Lyons moved to 0-1, and the Gators moved to 1-5.

Rivier 3, Wheaton (Mass.) 1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20)

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the first set, the Raiders dominated offensively, opening on a 10-2 run highlighted by aces from first-year Kenji Clark and sophomore Cody Fitzpatrick, and capped by back-to-back kills from sophomore James Levesque.

The Raiders took the momentum all the way through the first, stringing together rallies and only allowing the Lyons 13 points.

The two sides traded points through most of the second set.

Wheaton (Mass.) jumped out to a 5-3 lead but kills by senior Matthew McCloskey and junior Tyler Dickinson kept the Raiders within reach, tying the set at 10-10.

The Raiders took their largest lead of the set, 20-16, with key kills from Dickinson and Levesque.

The Lyons stayed in the set by capitalizing on attack errors and stringing together key rallies, earning a 26-24 win to tie the match 1-1.

Sophomore Cade Barron opened the third set with four kills, helping the Raiders take a 10-3 lead.

Rivier kept its foot on the gas, extending the lead to 23-13 before Clark closed the set with two aces to give the Raiders a 2-1 advantage.

In the fourth and final set, the Lyons opened play on a 5-0 run.

The Raiders rallied back to level the score at 8-8, highlighted by kills from Levesque and Barron.Wheaton (Mass.) stayed close with short rallies, but the Raiders held firm as McClosky delivered the final kill to secure the match.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Barron and Leveque lead the offense with 11 kills apiece.

Junior Justin Barish contributed 21 assists, followed by first-year Shawn Laduke with 10.

Clark had five key service aces.

Junior Joseph Cruz led with eight digs, followed by Fitzpatrick with six and McCloskey with five.

Rivier 3, Sage 0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-15)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rivier opened the match with early momentum behind the service line and with timely kills. After trading points through the opening rallies of the first set, the Raiders used a 5-0 run highlighted by a pair of aces from Cade Barron to build a 13-8 lead.

Rivier continued to control the frame, with Tyler Dickinson and Matthew McCloskey each recording a kill to seal the 25-20 set victory.

The Raiders continued to build off their momentum from the first set. A serving run from Kenji Clark and back-to-back kills from Cody Fitzpatrick pushed Rivier to an early 8-3 lead.

The offense continued to surge, hitting a match-best .474 in the frame, with James Levesque, Fitzpatrick, and Dickinson all contributing multiple kills.

After being held on match point for two consecutive rallies, Levesque secured the 2-0 match lead with his third kill of the set.

The Raiders continued its strong play in the third set, jumping out to a 12-7 lead as a result of a service ace from Barron and key assists from Shawn Laduke.

Down the stretch, McCloskey recorded two of his four kills in the stanza, while Levesque called game, 25-15, in a similar fashion to the second set, with a kill.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

McCloskey and Fitzpatrick each recorded a team-high seven kills is game two.

Barron added three services aces to his total.

Laduke contributed a career-best 16 assists, followed by Barish with 10.

Joseph Cruz added a team-best four digs.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to the court Wednesday for their Raider Game as they host non-conference opponent No. 17 MIT at 6 p.m. at the Muldoon Center.

REGIS 77, RIVIER 71

With the conference loss at Higgins Court, the Raiders dropped to 9-9 (2-3 GNAC), while the Pride improved to 10-8 (1-4 GNAC).

Regis struck first, knocking down a three in the opening minute to take an early 3-0 lead before senior Izaiah Shaw-Glen answered with a layup on Rivier’s first made field goal. The Pride played into a rhythm following their opening basket, capitalizing on more three-point shooting to build a 25-14 advantage just past the midway point of the first half.

Regis (Mass.) continued its consistent shooting, stretching the lead to as many as 14 in the opening frame. The Pride shot 47% from beyond the arc to help propel them to a 43-33 halftime lead.

Rivier came out strong in the second half, as sophomore Matt Youngquist and Shaw-Glen knocked down early baskets to trim the deficit to 45-37.

The Raiders put together a push midway through the half, highlighted by back-to-back scores from Youngquist and junior Theo Briscoe IV to make it 62-57 with 7:14 to play.

Rivier continued to battle, cutting the deficit to four in the final minutes after a layup from senior Robenson Baguiddy made it 71-67 with 1:17 remaining.

Despite the late surge, Regis (Mass.) hit crucial free throws in the closing second and held on for the victory.

Shaw-Glen paced the scoring with 27 points, followed by Yougquist with 16 and Baguidy with 14.Youngquist added a team-high eight rebounds with Baguidy close behind with seven.

The Raiders return to the court Wednesday to face off against No. 17 MIT. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Muldoon Center.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

REGIS 74, RIVIER 53

With the conference loss in Weston, Mass., the Raiders moved to 2-16 overall and 2-3 in conference play, while the Pride improved to 7-11 (4-1 GNAC).

Rivier graduate student Juju Nealy sparked the offense early, tallying her 1,000 collegiate point, with the first basket of the game.

Rivier came out with strong energy on both ends of the floor, trading baskets early and keeping pace with Regis throughout the opening minutes.Sophomore Sydney Perry opened the scoring for the Raiders and helped set the tone defensively securing the glass.

Junior Erika Fantauzzi and sophomore Gianna Donato combined to provide early offense, attacking inside and getting to the free-throw line as Rivier built a brief 8-4 advantage midway through the quarter.

The Raiders defended well in transition and forced Regis into contested shots, limiting the Pride to 37.5 percent shooting in the first quarter

Regis answered late in the frame with perimeter shooting, but Rivier remained composed and closed the quarter trailing just 16-14. Regis gained momentum in the second quarter, outscoring Rivier 17-10 to take a 33-24 lead into halftime.

The Pride extended their lead in the third quarter by capitalizing on turnovers and second-chance points, pushing the margin to 53-38.

Rivier continued to battle in the fourth quarter, shooting 66.7 percent from three-point range and knocking down four triples in the final frame. Despite the late offensive push, Regis closed the game with a strong fourth quarter to secure the conference win.

Fantauzzi led the Raiders with 13 points, adding four rebounds and three steals. Donato finished with 12 points, including two three-pointers

Perry recorded seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Nealy added seven points and five rebounds

Rivier shot 32.8 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range. The Raiders totaled 26 points in the paint and 38 rebounds.

Rivier continues conference play Wednesday night as the Raiders travel to Colby-Sawyer for a GNAC matchup at 5:30.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

SALEM ST. 4, RIVIER 3 (OT)

The Rivier women’s ice hockey team saw its five-game win streak come to an end in an overtime Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) loss. The Raiders dropped to10-5-0 (5-2-0 MASCAC), while the Vikings moved to 7-10-1 (5-1-1 MASCAC).

With under a minute remaining, the Vikings knotted the game at 3-3 to force overtime. Salem secured the win on its first shot 2:55 into the overtime period.

After 20 minutes of play, the game remained scoreless, with Salem narrowly outshooting Rivier 12-9. At 1:16 of the second period, first-year Lexi Davies lit the lamp for the Raiders, connecting with junior Rebecca McKelvey and classmate Chloe Bryda on the power play.

First-year Casey Roth doubled Rivier’s lead just 1:23 later, linking up with Bryda. For the remainder of the period, Rivier maintained heavy offensive pressure, outshooting Salem 16-6, but was unable to capitalize.

In the third frame, the Vikings evened the score with quick back-to-back goals.Junior Tia Picardi gave Rivier the lead at 16:19 on another power-play opportunity.

The Raiders controlled faceoffs 29-25 and junior Taylor Bruno recorded 26 saves in goal. Rivier outshot Salem 39-30.

The Raiders are on the road to take on JWU (Providence) in non-conference action at Lynch Arena on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

MEN’S HOCKEY

FRAMINGHAM STATE 3, RIVIER 2

The Rivier men’s ice hockey team came up short in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play at Conway Arena.

With the result, the Raiders moved to 1-15-1 (1-5-0 MASCAC), while the Rams moved to 10-5-0 (2-4 MASCAC).

After the opening frame, the game remained scoreless.

Junior Mason Meyer turned aside 16 shots to keep the Rams off the board.

Framingham struck twice in the second period, including a power-play goal, to take a 2-0 lead into the final break.

First-year Payton Kender cut the deficit in half just 42 seconds into the third, connecting with senior Carter Poulin and classmate Aaron Sawicki.

Framingham answered at the 16:11 mark on a shorthanded opportunity to restore a two-goal cushion.

Kender and sophomore Anthony Dalession connected with first-year Jacob Bodin, who tipped in a goal at the 18:36 mark. In the final two minutes, the Raiders outshot the Rams 3-0 but were unable to capitalize.

The Rams outshot the Raiders 36-32, while Meyer recorded 33 saves

Kender led the offense with two points. Faceoffs were nearly even, with the Rams winning 34 to the Raiders 33.

The Raiders are on the road for more MASCAC action on Thursday against Worcester St. at the Worcester Ice Center. Puck drop is set for 6:40 p.m.