March 31, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Liskow (603) 897-8513 RIVIER COLLEGE CROWNED MEN’S VOLLEYBALL GNAC CHAMPIONS
NASHUA, N.H.— Rivier College defeated Emmanuel College at the Muldoon Health & Fitness Center in Nashua, New Hampshire to capture the 2008 Men’s Volleyball Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship. Rivier, who didn’t drop a set all tournament, swept the Saints for the title. The Raiders defense tallied 35 digs and 12 blocks to stifle the Saints attack. Leading the way on defense with 8 blocks was Scott Wright (Salem, NH) who also tallied a team high 12 kills on 22 attempts with only 1 error for a .500 hitting percentage. Chris Deluca (E. Moriches, NY) scooped up a Raider high 8 digs and added 2 blocks. Matt Ferreira (Lincoln, RI) and Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) both had 9 kills while Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT) tallied 32 assists along with 4 blocks. In the first semi-final of the day, #1 seed Rivier College swept #4 Lasell College to reach the championship match. Setter Hansen directed the offense with 31 assists and added 4 digs, 3 aces, and 1 block. Andreozzi played a solid all around match with 15 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks, and 1 ace. Brad Musante (Shelton, CT) was big in the middle with 8 kills on 14 attempts with no errors for a .571 hitting percentage and also had a team high 5 blocks. The tournament victory marks the first time in program history that the Raiders have won the GNAC title. Hansen was named the tournament MVP and Wright and Andreozzi were selected to the All Tournament Team for their outstanding play. Rivier will travel to Mahwah, New Jersey for the regional North Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) tournament on April 4-6. The Raiders (22-11) qualify for the championship for the ninth consecutive year. Rivier is seeded 7th in the 16-team event and will have a rematch of the 2006 NECVA title match when they take on No. 10 seed Eastern Mennonite University. The game will be held at Rampano College at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 4.
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