NEWTON, Mass. – Rivier University continued their strong play against Mount Ida and the entire Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), collecting a 3-0 victory in men's volleyball action on Thursday evening at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The Raiders (13-9, 8-1 GNAC) hit at a .458 percentage for the game en route to set wins of 25-7, 25-12, and 25-18, sending Mount Ida to a 5-18 mark (0-10 GNAC).
James Ames (W. Hartford, Conn.) and Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) led the Mustangs with seven kills apiece, and junior Michael McCullough (Southborough, Mass.) put up 19 assists in the loss.
Rivier was led by a game-high 14 kills from junior Mike Hadder (Yucaipa, Calif.) and got 29 assists from sophomore Matt La Sance (Madison, Conn.).
Rivier took a 4-0 lead in the first set and then built their advantage to 8-1 and 11-2. The advantage was 19-7 before six straight points, including kills by Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) and Hadder, put the game away.
The Raiders also opened up a big advantage in the second set, taking a 10-3 advantage on an 8-1 run that included kills by Hadder and Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.). Rivier made just three errors and posted 13 kills to hit .500 in the second set after hitting .615 in their opening game.
The Mustangs led 7-3 in the third set thanks to kills by Mat Pils (Monroe, conn.), who had three in just his second game on the squad, and Dennis Miranda (Havana, Cuba).
Rivier fought back and took a 16-13 lead on a kill by Cam Phegley-Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) and put the match away on two kills by Hadder and one by Brendan Tutino (Manorville, N.Y.).
Senior Kalyn Smithson (Vilseck, Germany) had two kills and served Mount Ida's only ace while having a solo block and one assist. Griffenkranz also was in on one block assist and one solo.
Ian Wolksi (Westfield, Mass.) added nine kills for the Raiders and led all players with nine digs, while Sam Kazlas (Allentown, Pa.) was in on three block assists for the Raiders.
Mount Ida hits the road for their final road game of the year next Tuesday at 7:00 pm when they travel to Boston to play Emerson.
The Raiders travel to Boston on Saturday afternoon for a tri-match at Emmanuel that includes Albertus Magnus College.