The Rivier men's volleyball team had a lot to celebrate on Friday night at the Muldoon Center. (Courtesy photo by Nick Grace/Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – The Rivier men’s volleyball team swept non-conference opponents VTSU-Johnson Friday evening in the Muldoon Center.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 5-5, while the Badgers fell to 2-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sophomore Cody Fitzpatrick set the tone early with a kill, followed by classmates Cade Barron and James Levesque adding two and five kills respectively, as well as first-year Theodore Addesa logging his first career kill en route to a 15-4 lead. Addesa and Fitzpatrick recorded three more kills down the stretch, with first-year Wilfredo Castillo recording his first career kill to but Rivier up 21-9. Junior Tyler Dickinson closed out the frame with a kill, 25-10.

The Raiders carried their momentum into the second, with junior Kody Sodoyer and Dickinson sparking momentum through a block and back-to-back services aces to build a 10-6 lead. First-years Kenji Clark and Everett Boyer combined for four kills as Rivier stretched is margin to 17-9. Clark added one more kill to help the Raiders to take set two, 25-14.

Rivier continued its dominance in the third, with multiple Raiders recording kills to jump ahead 9-5, before a service ace by VTSU-Johnson sparked a 3-0 run for the Badgers to knot the set up at nine. Levesque, Dickinson, and Sodoyer delivered three straight kills to regain momentum. The Raiders closed out the match, 25-15, behind two kills from first-year Kaden Layne, a kill from junior Justin Barish, and a kill from Dickinson.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Leveque led the offense with eight kills along with a .500 hitting percentage…Dickinson followed close behind with five kills of his own and a .455 hitting percentage…Barish dished out a game-high 27 assists.

Fitzpatrick led the team in digs with eight.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to the court for a non-conference tri-match Saturday, Feb. 7 where they will face-off against New Paltz and hosts Sage. The opening serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

RIVIER 4, ANNA MARIA 0

The Rivier women’s ice hockey blanked Anna Maria in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Buffone Arena to improve to 11-6-0 overall (6-2-0 MASCAC), while the AMCATS dropped to 4-12-1 (2-5-1 MASCAC).

First-year Chloe Bryda jump-started the scoring just 3:34 into the opening period, cashing in on a setup from classmate Marina Bassett.

On a power-play opportunity at the 8:09 mark, senior Molly Dukesherer fired home her first goal of the season off feeds from Bryda and first-year Lexi Davies.

Basset extended the Raiders’ lead to three at the 14:49 mark, netting her first collegiate goal. Junior Taylor Bruno turned aside 13 shots to keep the AMCATS off the board going into the second period.

Basset kept the momentum rolling, recording her second tally at the 6:10 mark, with help from Bryda and sophomore Keegan McGaheran.

Rivier controlled the pace for the remainder of the period, pouring on 18 shots, seven on target, and entered the final 20 minutes with a four-goal cushion. Despite Anna Maria outshooting Rivier 13-11 in the third, the Raiders held strong, skating to a 4-0 win.

Rivier outshot Anna Maria 40-35. Bryda (1-2-3) and Basset (2-1-3) led the offense, each with three points. The Raiders controlled faceoffs 38-28.

Bruno recorded 36 saves, locking in her second clean sheet of the season.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to action tonight, hosting Framingham State at Conway Arena for Hockey Fights Cancer Night at 7.