Savannah Dunne led Rivier in kills in one o their two matches in a tournament at Vassar in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Rivier University women’s volleyball team fell to Clark, 3-1, before dropping game two, 3-0, to the hosts Vassar Friday evening at Kenyon Hall.

With the results, the Raiders dropped to 0-3, while the Cougars improved to 2-0, and Brewers moved to 1-1.

Clark 3, Rivier 1 (26-24, 25-21, 14-25, 25-21)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clark jumped out to a 9-4 lead before Rivier rallied to tie the set at 10-10 off back-to-back kills from sophomore Fiona Rexford and junior Annabelle Lozzi. The Cougars later opened a 19-15 advantage, but the Raiders responded with five straight points, including kills from senior Sam Driend and a service ace from junior Savannah Dunne, to take a 20-19 lead. The teams traded rallies down the stretch, reaching 24-24 before Clark scored the final two points to take the opening set, 26-24.

Rivier held an early 3-2 lead and maintained its advantage until Clark tied the set 8-8 off an error. The Raiders later trailed 14-11 before Clark extended its advantage to 21-16. Rivier scored five of the next six points, capitalizing on errors before Clark answered with three straight points, including back-to-back service aces, to take a 2-0 lead.

The Raiders opened the third set with a 6-2 run, highlighted by three kills from Dunne and a kill from Lozzi. Rivier continued to build its lead, moving ahead 13-5 before Clark cut the deficit to 13-10 off the back of a 5-0 run. The Raiders responded with a 6-1 run, that included four combined service aces from sophomore Mollie Miner and junior Lily Seibel, to extend the lead to 19-10. Rivier closed the set on a 6-2 run to force a fourth.

The fourth set remained tight early, with the teams tied at 6-6 and again at 11-11, 13-13, and 15-15. The Cougars broke the deadlock with a 5-0, taking a 20-15 lead. The Raiders battled back to within two behind kills from first-year Ava Pohopek and Dunne, but Clark sealed the match, 25-21, with consecutive kills.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Dunne and Driend lead the offense with 13 and 11 kills respectively, with Dunne adding a .500 hitting percentage…Seibel dished out 28 assists with sophomore Regin Pepin adding 12 to the stat sheet…Defensively, Miner finished with a team-high 19 digs…As a team, the Raiders out blocked the Cougars 9-5.

Vassar 3, Rivier 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-22)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rivier held an early 4-3 advantage before Vassar moved ahead 7-5. The Raiders stayed within one point at 11-10 and later took the lead, 12-11, following consecutive errors. Vassar took a 14-12 lead and extended its advantage to 17-14. The Brewers then used a 4-0 run to move ahead 21-15 before closing the set, 25-18, with a kill.

Vassar opened the second set with a 6-1 advantage and led 8-2 before Rivier began to chip away. A pair of service aces from sophomore Mia Pento helped the Raiders cut the deficit to 10-9. Rivier pulled within two at 14-12 following a pair of kills from Dunne. The Brewers answered with a 5-0 run late to take a 19-14 lead and finished the set taking four of the last five points run to take set two, 25-17.

The third set featured 15 ties and remained close throughout. Rivier and Vassar were tied at 14-14 before Vassar moved ahead 16-14. The Raiders stayed within striking distance, eventually taking a two-point lead, 19-17, with a kill from first-year Ashlee Salafia. Vassar then scored four straight points to take a 23-20 lead. Rivier countered with consecutive points to pull within 23-22, but Holland Kaplan closed out the frame and the match with two consecutive kills.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to the court today for day two of the Vassar Quad, where the will take on West Conn in a non-conference bought. The opening serve is set for 1 p.m. at Kenyon Hall.

MEN’S SOCCER

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 2, RIVIER 0

The Raiders battled through a physical game but were shutout by the Nor’easters, 2-0 in their home opener at Joanne Merrill Field

With the result, Rivier dropped to 1-1-0 while the Nor’easters improved to a perfect 2-0-0.

Both sides battled through a scoreless opening half, with the Raiders holding a slight advantage in the attack after recording three shots on goal compared to the Nor’easters’ two.

Coming out of the break, UNE finally broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute as Reaves Debin took it from midfield and found the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.

Brady Colgan doubled the Nor’easters’ lead in the 79th minute, putting the ball between the pipes on an unassisted effort to make it 2-0.

UNE finished with three corner kicks while Rivier tallied two.

On the scoresheet, the Raiders had an offensive lead finishing with 13 total shots to the Nor’easters’ nine.

Rivier returns to Joanne Merrill Field on Sunday to face UMass Dartmouth in a non-conference matchup at 11 a.m., the second game of the Raiders’ three-game homestand.