BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Matt Tutino (Manorville, N.Y.) recorded seven kills, while classmate Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.) and senior Alex Xenidis (Shelton, Conn.) chipped in with five kills apiece as the Rivier College men's volleyball team clinched the number one seed in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 win over Wentworth.
The Raiders, ranked 12th in the latest AVCA Division III Men's Volleyball Poll, jumped out to a 10-1 lead to open the match, thanks in part to three aces from senior Andrew Corwin (Framingham, Mass.) and a pair of kills from Xenidis. Rivier maintained the lead throughout the game and would take a 25-14 win.
Game two saw Rivier take a 3-0 lead in the early going and, after the Leopards cut the lead to 7-6, the Raiders used a 7-2 run to take a 14-8 lead. Wentworth battled back to cut the lead to 21-16 and would score four straight points to make it a 21-20 game. However, the Raiders took advantage of a service error and a pair of attack errors and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-21 win.
After an early tie at 2-all, Rivier scored the next four points to take a 6-2 lead and would lead, 8-4 before Wentworth recorded three straight points to pull within one. The Leopards would trail by just a single point seven more times – including at 18-17 – but the Raiders held the hosts in check and would complete the sweep with a 25-20 win.
Freshman Shane Spellman (Norwich, Conn.) and sophomore Steven Coulson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) combined for eight blocks in the win, while Spellman had 24 assists, five digs, and two aces. Corwain finished with three aces on the night and sophomores Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) and Daniel Elitharp (Eastport, N.Y.) finished with six digs apiece.
Sophomore Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) finished with eight kills, nine digs, and a block for the Leopards, while freshman Nate Perry (New Bedford, Mass.) had five kills and six digs. Junior Rick Pignataro (Wilbraham, Mass.) finished with a match-high 10 digs and sophomore Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) had 17 assists.
With the win, Rivier's fifth straight, the Raiders improve to 22-8 overall and 12-0 in GNAC play. Wentworth falls to 12-14 (6-6). Both teams close out the regular season on Saturday with conference tri-matches. Rivier is at Mount Ida to play the Mustangs and Emerson, while Wentworth is at Albertus Magnus to face the Falcons and Johnson & Wales.
