KEENE, N.H. – Sam Driend finished with 13 kills, 13 digs, and hit .275 as Rivier University avenged a season-opening loss to the Keene State College women's volleyball team, beating the Owls 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18) in non-conference action at Spaulding Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Postgame Interview (Coach Girard)…coming soon
KSC (4-6) had snapped a five-match losing streak by sweeping a tri-match against Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Western New England University this past Saturday, but their bid for a third straight win was denied for the second time this season. The Owls have dropped both of their home matches in 2025, hitting under .100 in both.
Playing on their home court for the first time in over two weeks, a rough first set loss in which KSC could not hold a 23-20 lead – allowing the final five points – ultimately set the tone for the night, as Rivier also posted a 25-19 win in the second frame to take firm control. The Owls also led 14-12 and later 17-15 following a
Marina Miller kill in that set, but six straight Rivier points that began with a Driend kill suddenly gave Rivier a four-point advantage. Keene State never got closer than three (22-19) after that, as Lacey Turner, Lily Seibel, and Callie Nanos each found the floor on consecutive points to put the home team in a 2-0 hole in the match. Through two sets, the Owls had totaled 24 kills and 20 errors, hitting .042.
KSC staved off a sweep in the third by holding off another Raider comeback bid. The Owls trailed 10-9 before tallying four straight on kills by three different people and an ace to jump in front by three. A spike by first year
Katie Taylor and ace by classmate
Ava Harkins helped push the lead to 18-13, and four more points in a row later made it 22-15. Rivier trimmed a 23-16 deficit to three with four straight kills, but a swing by
Gigi Stake brought up set point and KSC closed it out on Savannah Dunne's net violation.
The Owls hit .262 in that set victory, compiling 15 kills to just four errors – but that proved to be nearly a third of their total kills in the match, and thus their momentum was fleeting. Rivier opened the fourth set with three straight and four of the opening five points. Keene State got to within 5-4 on consecutive Raider errors but never led. Down 8-5, Ali Rivera's kill on a missed block by the Owls helped Rivier reel off five straight points for an eight-point lead. KSC got all of those back, including on a block by Taylor and
Sarah Bartels along with a Stake kill, but never scored consecutive points again. The teams alternated points for 14 consecutive rallies, ultimately setting up match point for Rivier at 24-18, and the Raiders snapped that string when Rivera ended it with a kill. It was perhaps fitting, as Rivera had eight kills in the final two sets and accounted for nearly a quarter of her team's points in the deciding set. Driend was errorless on her first 11 kills, including 10 in the opening three sets. Rivera finished with 12 kills (.171 pct.), Kaitlyn Miller a team-best 20 digs, and Seibel 37 assists and five kills.
Stake paced KSC with a match-high 14 kills, hitting .160, and 11 digs. Miller added a 23-dig, 10-kill double-double.
The Owls have hit below .100 in six of their 10 matches so far this season, going 2-4, including both times against Rivier (.097 in their season-opening 3-1 win and .091 tonight). The Raiders had hit just .045 in the opener, however, and were minus-13 in kills. They took the first set before losing the next three, and Driend recorded more attacking errors than kills (5-3).
KSC has lost three straight to Rivier at Spaulding Gymnasium, not winning in the series on their home court since a 3-1 victory in 2021.
The Owls are back in action Saturday at Wheaton College (Mass.) for a tri-match against Gordon College (1:00 p.m.) and the host Lyons (3:00 p.m.).
