SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – In a match where many counting stats were nearly identical, there was one that was not – aces – to the tune of a 16-4 Rivier University edge as the Raiders soured the Keene State College women's volleyball team's season opener with a 3-0 final (25-22, 27-25, 25-23) on Friday night at Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College.

Records

• Keene State:  0-1
• Rivier:  1-0

How It Happened
It was a tough loss for the defending Little East Conference champion Owls, who rebounded from a 13-8 deficit in the second set to take a lead, and then erased a 22-19 deficit before eventually bringing up set point at 25-24, but could not close the deal to even the match.  Then, in the third, KSC opened a 16-10 edge on an ace of their own from Theresa Norris and still led 21-15 following a kill from Veronica Kroha, but saw that lead slip away also as the Raiders at one point notched four aces in a six-point span to eventually jump back in front (22-21).  Consecutive Rivier attack errors brought the Owls even at 23 as they aimed to extend the match, but critical points down the stretch for KSC remained elusive as the Raiders – who went 26-5 last year and 13-0 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference before losing in the league semifinals at home – finished off the straight set victory.

It was a slow start for the Owls, who allowed seven consecutive points to see a 7-5 lead turn into a 12-7 deficit in the opening set and never led or seriously threatened again.  A kill by Gigi Stake made it 19-16, but the Raiders got a kill to answer from Brynn Roche and then two KSC miscues made a six-point gap and forced an Owl timeout.  They made a last-ditch push to trim a 24-18 deficit to two, but Lily Sills, who along with Cadia Greene had a match-high 10 kills, gave Rivier the set.  The team were just one kill apart and had the same number of errors in the season's first frame, but the Raiders had six aces and the Owls none.

Keene State's offense struggled in the second set, as they hit -.026 (Rivier .098), but despite that they continued to claw back repeatedly and took their first lead (15-14) on a spike from Stake.  An ace, kill, and three Owl errors helped put the Raiders back up two – and they led by that margin twice more in the set – but had a hard time closing it out.  After a block from Roche and Callie Nanos made it 22-19, two Raider errors (one service, one attacking) kept the Owls right there, and they tied it at 23 on a point from Stephanie Olah.  Nanos gave the Raiders a set point with a kill, but one of 12 Rivier service errors prevented that, and Molly Wetherbee made it a set point for KSC with her kill that made it 25-24.  Jessica Timothy misfired on a kill chance as the Owls looked to close the set, and Greene then put the Raiders up 26-25.  The tenth attacking miscue of the set for Keene State sent them into a 2-0 hole in the match.

KSC hit a match-best .286 in the third set as their offense began clicking more, but six more Rivier aces and a .270 attacking percentage proved to be enough.  Sills had six kills alone in that frame after entering with four.

Wetherbee paced the Owls with seven kills and made only one error, hitting .600 on 10 attempts.  Stake also had seven kills, while Timothy had five and Kroha four.  First year setter Alexis Small had 13 assists and Ainsley Hegg 10, while Reagan Fleming posted 16 digs and Stake 13.  Keene State was plus-11 (58-47) in digs, and had only two fewer kills on 11 fewer chances.

Sills hit .286 on 28 attacks (10 kills), while Greene hit .088.  Ryan Hicks led Rivier with 29 kills while Sofia Pawlusik added 15 digs.

Service Aces

• Both teams were picked second in their league preseason polls.
• The Raiders have won three straight and six of seven to tie the all-time series 15-15.
• Small and Sarah Bartels made their Keene State debuts in the match.
• KSC is 5-2 in their last seven season openers.

Up Next

• The Owls are right back at it Saturday (September 2) with a chance to bounce back, taking on Westfield State University (0-1; 13-12 in 2022) and Skidmore College (1-0; 10-15 in 2022) at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at Springfield College's Dana Gymnasium.  Skidmore – despite 11 fewer kills – downed the University of Massachusetts-Boston 3-1 Friday.
• Rivier takes on host Springfield College (1-0; 18-9 in 2022) at 10:30 a.m. and Skidmore at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.