UTICA, N.Y. – 10th-ranked Rivier University was able to edge out the Arcadia University men's volleyball team 3-1 Friday night on the first day of competition at the SUNY Poly Invitational. The Knights fell by game scores of 23-25, 30-32, 25-21 and 17-25.
FOR THE RECORD: Rivier improved to 7-5 with its fourth consecutive victory, while the Knights record dropped to 7-9. The Raiders are ranked a season-high 10th in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association of America Poll.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Knights appeared to be on their way to an opening game win after a four-point run put them up 20-15, but the Raiders closed the game with a 10-3 surge to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The two teams traded point the whole way in the second, which saw Arcadia go on a 3-0 run capped by a kill from freshman
Bryce Galloway to tie the game at 24. It was later tied at 30 before a kill from Matt Heckler and a block by Matt LaSance and Khayen Yocca gave the Raiders a 32-30 decision that put them up 2-0 in the match.
The third game was a series of short runs and saw Rivier up 21-20 off a kill by Grant Andler before freshman
Edwin Waters Jr. put down a kill that started a 5-0 Arcadia run to close the game and cut the Raiders' lead to 2-1 in the match. Freshman
Brandon Catala ended the game with an ace for the 25-21 final. Arcadia trailed 14-12 in the fourth game before Rivier went on a 5-1 run to grow its lead to 19-13. The Knights scored three in a row to pull within 19-16 before the Raiders closed the game with a 6-1 surge to secure the match with a 25-17 win.
ARCADIA LEADERS: Freshman
Jason Manley totaled a match-high 16 kills with three blocks and four digs for the Knights, while Galloway hit .522 with 14 kills and two errors on 23 swings to go with his nine digs. Waters Jr. totaled 10 kills with four digs, while freshman
Austin Braas hit. 500 with nine kills and two errors on 14 attempts. Senior
Sean Cohen handed out a match-high 49 assists.
RIVIER LEADERS: Andler and Heckler totaled 12 kills each to lead the Raiders, while Ian Wolski also reached double figures with his 10 kills. Yocca hit .600 with nine kills and no errors on 16 swings, while LaSance had a 49 assists.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The match was a virtial deadlock, with both teams scoring 68 points. Arcadia had the edge in kills (54-52) and blocking (8-6) while hitting .291. Rivier had the edge in aces (10-6) and hit .284 for the match.
