The Rivier College Raiders came to Brookline today to take on the Nighthawks of Newbury College in a NECVA New England men’s volleyball conference match-up. Both teams are currently nationally ranked in Division III, the Nighthawks ranked 15th, and the Raiders ranked 12th. However, it was Newbury that was victorious in today’s match, defeating Rivier, 3-1.

In the first game of the series, the teams stayed neck and neck, neither team finding a decided advantage until late in the set. With Rivier up 24-23, Newbury went on a 5 point run to come to game point. After a side out, Rivier scored two more points in the set but Newbury held on for a 30-26 win. It was Newbury’s outside hitters Erik Kostanski (Hampden, MA/Minnechaug Regional) and Bryan McDermand (Palantine, IL/Montini Catholic) that broke down the Rivier defense and combined for 13 of the team’s 19 kills.

The second game started much like the first with the teams rallying back and forth until Newbury’s Zac Falconer (Ludlow, MA/Ludlow) went on an 11 point service run, at which point the Nighthawks did not look back. Newbury took game two, 30-23.

The Raiders changed the momentum and found their footing in game three due in large part to the play of Matt Ferreira (Lincoln, RI) and Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) who had 12 kills combined, while the Raider’s setter, Zach Hansen (Shleton, CT), collected 16 assists in the set. Rivier controlled the tempo of the game and won 30-23.

Newbury rebounded in game four, with McDermand producing 9 kills out of 13 total attacks for a .462 hitting percentage. Rivier adjusted to Newbury’s offense, coming up with some big blocks late in the game, but it wasn’t enough as Newbury pulled out a 30-26 win for the victory.

Newbury’s Kostanski, McDermand, and Mark Thomas (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) combined for 44 of 54 total kills while Newbury’s setter Matthew Talamantes (Sylmar, CA/Viewpoint) provided 48 assists in the victory. The Nighthawks defense was also impressive with Michael Biuso (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) and Tim MacMillan (Haverhill, MA/Haverhill) picking up 12 and 11 digs respectively.

Rivier’s setter, Hansen, had 42 assists and 7 digs in the match, and Ferreira came up with 19 total kills.

With this win, Newbury now enjoys a 26-8 overall record, and a 9-1 NECVA New England record. Rivier drops to 19-10 overall, and 9-2 in NECVA New England play. Newbury travels to Emmanuel College for their final NECVA New England conference match up in the regular season on Tuesday, March 25th. The match starts at 8:00 p.m.