NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier University men's volleyball team, ranked number one in the latest AVCA Division III Men's Poll, opened its home schedule with a 3-1 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play Wednesday night at Muldoon Gymnasium.
With the win the Raiders improve to 5-0 (1-0 GNAC) and run their conference win streak to 35 games, while the Leopards suffer their first loss of the season, falling to 7-1 (1-1).
The Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 and 25-23 wins before the Leopards cut the lead to 2-1 with a 25-18 win. The win in the third set was the first set the Wentworth had taken from Rivier since March 25, 2003, snapping a 50-set losing streak.
Junior Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.) led the attack for Rivier as he laced 15 kills and registered a remarkable .636 hitting percentage. Senior Aaron Almario (Alhambria, Calif.) added 11 kills and a .625 hitting percentage while junior Cam Phegley-Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) had a solid night with seven kills and a .417 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.) added 42 assists to his terrific start to 2014 and senior libero Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) was the defensive star with 11 digs.
Wentworth saw both freshmen Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) and Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) reach the double-digit mark in kills as they had 13 and 11, respectively. Potts finished the night with a .556 hitting percentage. Senior Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) added eight kills in the loss with freshman Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) recording 38 assists. Sophomore Zach Newhouse (Lancaster, Calif.) had a team high of seven digs.
Rivier competes at the Springfield Invitational this weekend, facing a pair of nationally ranked foes in New Paltz and Springfield. Wentworth hosts 11th-ranked MIT and CCNY in a non-conference tri-match on Saturday.
(Portions of this recap courtesy of Rivier Sports Information)
