Kenji Clark (21) and the Raiders had a lot to celebrate Tuesday with a win over Emmanuel. (Courtesy photo by Nick Grace/Rivier Athletics)

BOSTON – The Rivier men’s volleyball team swept Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent Emmanuel (Mass.) in its penultimate match of the season, Tuesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 12-11 (4-2 GNAC), while the Saints fell to 10-13 (3-3 GNAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rivier and Emmanuel were even at 3-3 before the Raiders pulled away. A kill by junior Justin Barish and a service ace from senior Bassam Awde sparked an 11-2 run. With senior Matthew McCloskey serving, Rivier took advantage of attack errors and strong blocking from junior Tyler Dickinson, Barish, and first-year Everett Boyer to build a 10-4 lead. Dickinson and Boyer added kills to extend the margin, and Boyer closed the set with a kill for a 25-14 win.

The Saints led early, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage and extending it to 16-9. Rivier slowly closed the gap behind kills from Dickinson and Boyer. Trailing 20-18, the Raiders surged late, using a block by sophomore Cade Barron and Dickinson and Emmanuel errors to tie the score. After trading points to 22-22, McCloskey delivered back-to-back kills, and Awde finished the comeback with a kill to give Rivier a 2-0 lead.

The final set stayed close early, tied at 8-8, before Rivier created separation during a strong service run by Boyer. Kills from Boyer and Awde, along with blocks by Dickinson and Barron, helped push the lead to 14-8. Emmanuel narrowed the gap to 20-16, but late kills from McCloskey and Boyer stopped the rally. Dickinson sealed the match with a one final block, as Rivier won 25-18 to complete the sweep.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Boyer paced the offense with 11 kills followed by Dickison recording a .750 hitting percentage…Barish dished out 32 assists in the win…Awde, Barish, Boyer, and first-year Luis Cruz led the team with five digs each.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to the Muldoon Center on Thursday for their final game of the regular season. The first serve against conference opponent Dean will take place at 6:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

NORWICH 9, RIVIER 5

The Rivier women’s lacrosse team was downed by Norwich in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. With the result, the Raiders fell to 5-6 (3-1 GANC), while the Cadets improved to 8-1 (5-0 GNAC).

Sophomore Ashlynn Ledoux finished a feed from first-year Hayleigh Young, netting a goal between two Cadet scores in the opening frame.

Norwich struck first in the second quarter to take a two-goal lead. Junior Shaelyn Burke answered, followed by a free-position goal from first-year Olivia Wheeler to even the score at 3-3. The Cadets added one more to take a 4-3 lead into halftime.

The Cadets tallied the first of the third quarter, quickly answered by a free-position goal by first-year Brooke Carter to keep the Raiders within one, 5-4. Norwich ended the framing scoring two unanswered to take a 7-4 lead into the final frame.

Norwich opened the fourth with back-to-back goals to extend its lead to 9-4. Young added one for the Raiders to cut it to 9-5, but it wouldn’t be enough.

First-year goalie Arrianna Imbriano recorded six saves while Young led the offense, tallying a goal and an assist, as well as grabbing three ground balls and four draw controls. Senior Madelyn Poulton and Junior Alysha Hok each caused a team-high two turnovers

The Raiders are back in action for a GNAC contest against Regis (Mass.) on Saturday at Joanne Merrill Field.

SOFTBALL

UMASS-BOSTON SWEEPS

The Rivier softball team dropped a non-conference doubleheader to UMass Boston at Raider Diamond, falling 15-5 in the opener before an 8-0 loss in game two.

With the losses, the Raiders moved to 7-11 on the season, while the Beacons improved to 10-4.

UMass Boston 15, Rivier 5

UMass Boston jumped out early with two runs in the first inning and added four more in the third to take a 6-0 lead.The Beacons broke the game open in the fourth inning, erupting for eight runs on a series of hits and aggressive baserunning.

Rivier answered in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring four runs highlighted by a three-RBI single from senior Avry Nelson to cut into the deficit.

UMass Boston added one more run in the fifth inning to extend the lead.

Junior Sophia Quinlan provided a late spark with a solo home run in the fifth to round out the scoring.

Nelson led the Raiders with three RBIs.. Quinlan went 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI. Junior Hayleigh Silva and senior Olivia Couto each recorded two hits while Rivier totaled eight hits in the contest.

UMass Boston 8, Rivier 0

After three scoreless innings, UMass Boston broke through in the fourth, taking advantage of an error to grab a 1-0 lead.

The Beacons added two runs in the fifth inning to extend their advantage.

UMass Boston continued to build momentum with two more runs in the sixth.

Rivier threatened in the fourth inning, loading the bases, but was unable to push a run across.

The Beacons sealed the game with a three-run seventh inning to secure the 8-0 victory.

Junior Liv Harnish paced the Rivier offense with two hits…Senior Kylee Caetano, senior Hayley Rapaglia, and Nelson each added a hit…Rapaglia tossed 6.1 innings in the circle with three strikeouts…Rivier recorded five hits in the game.

The Raiders return to action Saturday as they head back into Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action against Colby Sawyer. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. at Proctor Academy.