WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: GNAC Tournament Semifinal Summary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of Rivier Athletics Communications

NASHUA, NH: The Rivier women's volleyball team defeated the Pride of Regis College this evening to move on and host the GNAC Championship. The Raiders took down the Pride 3-1 with set scores of 25-21, 25-15, 26-28, and 25-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
-  The Raiders took a quick 2-0 on the Pride with a 12 kill first set and 16 kill second. The third set saw Rivier swing a .000 kill percentage, getting 11 kills with 11 errors. In the fourth set, Rivier settled back down and had 12 kills to just two errors.
-  The Raiders offense was fueled by Lily Blodgett's (Dunstable, MA)best performance of the season with 21 kills on just two errors. She also had six blocks on the night. Avery Pollard (Ballston Lake, NY)was all over the court tonight, racking up stats in all categories. To top the list, she finished with 41 assists, 12 digs, and five kills.
- Rivier had two top notch performances defensively by Sydney Racevicius (Woodbury, CT) and Sofia Pawlusik (Burnt Hills, NY). Racevicius had the match high of 19 digs, with Pawlusik ending just behind her with 18.
- For the Pride, Rita Dow had the best night hitting with eight kills and three digs. Mica Van Der Meulen had the team high in digs with 16.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
-  Kills: Rivier 52, Regis 34
-  Assists: Rivier 49, Regis 33
-  Digs: Rivier 71, Regis 58

UP NEXT:
- Rivier women's volleyball will take on Johnson & Wales this Saturday for the GNAC Championship at 1 pm.

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications

BOSTON – The second-seed Simmons volleyball team (19-7) fell to the third-seed, and defending champion Johnson & Wales University (19-9) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals on Thursday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Simmons 25, Johnson & Wales 21
Sophomore outside hitter Claire Conners posted a .333 attack percentage, tallying five kills on 15 attempts as the Sharks came out strong, taking the first set, 25-21, to jump out to a 1-0 match lead. Junior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono followed up with four kills, while Kat Simeonidis paced the offense with 11 assists. 

Set 2: Johnson & Wales 25, Simmons 13
Johnson & Wales responded in the second set, hitting .296 as a team they evened up the match at 1-1 winning game two, 25-13. First-year Masina Tupea was five of 10 from the floor for a .400 attack percentage, while classmate Kyra Hissner set the offense with seven assists. 

Set 3: Johnson & Wales 25, Simmons 18
The Wildcats grew stronger and so too their hitting percentage as the match moved along. Johnson & Wales's .321 attack percentage in the third set aided them in winning the third set, 25-18, to take the 2-1 match advantage. Senior Elisabeth Elbrecht was four of seven from the floor for a .571 attack percentage in the win. 

Set 4: Johnson & Wales 25, Simmons 21
Johnson & Wales registered its best hitting percentage in the fourth set (.333) to seal the match with a 25-21 win and advance to its seventh straight GNAC title game on Saturday. Tupea led th way for the Wildcats, tallying four kills on 10 attempts and one error in addition to notching four digs.

Offensively for the Sharks, senior middle blocker Amanda Fortune notched four kills on 10 attempts for a .400 attack percentage, while sophomore Jordan Hacker and Iannantuono led the way defensively with four digs.

SIMMON HIGHLIGHTS

• Sophomore outside hitter Claire Conners posted a .289 attack percentage, leading the way with 13 kills on 38 attempts with just two miscues.
• Classmate and fellow sophomore Jayla Parnell followed up with 10 kills and three aces. .
• Junior outside hitter registered a team-high 17 defensive digs, while also notching three aces.