Semi-Final Finish for Men at Rick Pierce

We wrapped up our non-traditional season this past Sunday at one of the biggest adult volleyball tournaments in the area. The Rick Pierce Invitational is one of the premier tourneys in the Northeast with 15 adult teams competing by invite only in an AA/Open level field. Rivier was the only college team in the mix.
We finished Pool play with a solid 6-2 record - our losses came from a veteran Rhode Island team who for years has been one of the best in New England.
First round of playoffs pitted us against a confident team named "Blue Chips" - a group of players from the CT/NY area. We came out smoking and put down a 30-16 drubbing on the blue chippers.
In our semi-final match we faced the top team from Club Creole (based out of New York City) who was undefeated in set play up to this point. In an impressive display - the D3 school from NH put up a fight and ended up pulling out a first set 27-25 win over the open club team.
Needless to say the Creole boys weren't too happy with this and went on to step their game up to win the next 2 sets.
Creole then went on to sweep the Rhode Island team 2-0 in the finals. Our 4 set losses through the day came from the 1st and 2nd place teams in the tournament. Pretty solid showing for RIV and the best finish to date in our 4 appearances in the event.

Boston University Invitational or RIV Alumni Game???

BU - we need to talk......

We may need to talk to Boston University and have them rename their Winter Invitational Tourney. The annual 32 team showdown features the biggest and best of the east coast college club squads (BU, Northeastern, BC, URI, UConn, Syracuse, UNH, Delaware, Cornell to name a few) along with a handful of Division III schools and adult USA teams. After 2 days of play who was still standing in the end.....Rivier College and the USA Adult Club Team named The Lost Boys which featured 4 RIV alumni.

The Raiders went 5-1 in pool play with wins over Williams College, Bryant University, and the University of Delaware on day 1 then went on to defeat Johnson & Wales University (DIII) in a game to 30 to advance to the Gold Round of day 2. From there RIV downed University of Connecticut 2-0 and Newbury College (DIII) 2-0 to advance to the Championship Match.

The Finals was the best out of 3 and all 3 sets would be needed to decide the winner. Both set 1 and 2 finished with the scores of 25-23 as The Lost Boys, represented by Greg Stanton (RIV 06), Nhut Chau (RIV 06), Justin Andreozzi (RIV 07), and Scottie Wright (RIV 09), took the 1st set and RIV won the 2nd. The deciding set to 15 was tight until 10 points when RIV pulled ahead and won with a score of 15-12.

This was the 2nd time in 3 years the we have won the (Raider?) Winter Invitational.

Another Raider Joins the Coaching Ranks

It's always exciting to hear about a successful RIV Alum earning the opportunity to coach volleyball at any level. Its' even more exciting to hear it's a college position. Lindsay Marshall (2008) was newly named the women's volleyball head coach of division 3 Salve Regina University in Newport Rhode Island.
Go to www.salve.edu/athletics/news/news_detail.cfm?news_ID=883 to read Lindsay's press release.
Best of luck Lindz and hopefully see you and the Seahawks at The Muldoon!!!

MEN OUT OF THE GATE QUICK

The RIV Men started off their non-traditional season in a big way by winning a 5 team Yankee AA Tourney at Wheaton College on Sunday. RIV ran the table going 8-0 in pool play which was good enough to give them a bye to the championship game in which we won to finish a perfect 9-0. A nice way to start and great to see the sophomores and freshmen be significant factors on the team.
Next up is the 32 team Boston University Club Tourney on December 5th and 6th.

1 Down and 2 to Go

The RIV women came out smokin' hot and cruised through Mt Ida College in the quarter-final round of the GNAC playoffs. We played well with everything clicking - good passing, consistent setting, great serving, and a stingy defense. It's always nice to be playing at The Muldoon so that helps too. Great home court for sure!! Different story from here on in as we hit the road for the semi-finals!!! Play like we did in the quarters and it won't matter where we are.

20 and Counting

For the 5th straight year the women's team has put up a 20 spot in the win column. RIV ended the regular season with a 3-0 win over Suffolk to pick up #20. The playoffs are straight ahead and we are poised to make another run at a GNAC Championship. It's never easy to win a GNAC Championship but a 3-peat is within reach. Hopefully this year's squad can show the mental toughness that the previous championship RIV teams have shown. Here's to win #21.......

Rivalry Renewed??

Rivier College vs Daniel Webster College. Used to be a big deal in Nashua but over the years the interest has dwindled. The Women Raiders have posted a 14-1 advantage over the DW Eagles since 1993. The men's teams haven't played in close to 10 years due to DW dropping their program a few years back (only to bring it back 2 years ago) along with the emergence of RIV being a National power. Not much of a rivalry to speak of......
Last night had a different feel however. The match at DWC last night had a playoff atmosphere. Great crowd and both teams battled. Daniel Webster has some young local talent energizing their program and RIV was able to get some of their younger players into the mix to get a look at what playoff atmosphere ball feels like.
Here's hoping the rivalry is renewed - it's great to battle for kings and queens of Nashua.

In The Hunt

Tough week so far for The RIV. On Tuesday Johnson & Wales came to The Muldoon and we started out on fire with a 25-8 drubbing in the first set only to drop the next three games. Had a few points lead in set 4 but couldn't force a 5th and deciding game. We then traveled to Boston to take on undefeated Emerson College. We quickly dropped the first 2 sets and then stormed back with 2 wins of our own only to drop the 5th game. So far our 3 conference losses have all been down to the wire and we still like our chances. We are in the hunt and come playoff time anything can happen!!

The Stretch Run

It's October which means it's time to get serious and start playing the bulk of our GNAC matches. September was a month filled with great competition against some of the best in New England along with some great teams in Virginia. So far we have only played 2 of our 12 GNAC matches and have gone 1-1. We slipped up against Emmanuel early in the season and blew a 2-0 set lead to lose in 5 games however we regrouped to sweep Mt Ida. We are ready and running well now - just in time for our last 10 GNAC matches. October should be a fun ride!

RIV BEACH FEST - 2009

The annual RIV BEACH FEST has come and gone with another outstanding day of fun for all involved. Friends of RIV Nation, including some alumni, gather every year on the 3rd weekend of September to play in a 4 man team fundraiser on RIV Beach. The teams are chosen by lottery - each name drawn from a hat - and game on from there. An 80 degree day, tons of food on the grill, and great play all day long made this years FEST the best so far. Money raised by the tourney goes to RIV Volleyball as well as any needs RIV Beach may need for the following year. RIV Beach is a secret no more - it features great soft sand and enclosure on all 4 sides for limited shagging. If you haven't been to RIV Beach you may want to mark it on your calendar for the summer of 2010 as a vacation destination you must travel to.

200 and Counting

The Raiders head coach Craig Kolek recently reached win #200 in his women's volleyball coaching career. The milestone victory came on Saturday 9/26 when RIV swept Rhode Island College 3-0 at The Muldoon. Kolek, now in his 11th season coaching the women, joins an exclusive group of coaches who has 200 plus wins coaching the women's side as well as 200 plus wins coaching the men's side of volleyball. Kolek currently stands at 246 wins for the Raiders men's team.

Winning is second nature at The RIV. Over the past decade the RIV Women have averaged 18 wins a season and the RIV Men average out to 17.5 wins per season. Can you find another program with a better Tradition of Excellence? We doubt it.....

Which Roller Coaster is the Best?

The Griffin or the Alpengeist? Which is better? Tough decision to make but one worth testing. The women's volleyball team traveled to Virginia Beach over Labor Day to kick off the season with a tournament at Virginia Wesleyan College. While down their we took a day trip to Busch Gardens for some fun and excitement. By far two of the best roller coasters at the park and maybe on the East Coast were The Griffin and The Alpengeist.

The Griffin brings you 100 some odd feet high to the peak and then once you get over the peak it suspends you for a few seconds looking straight down. It then proceeds to drop you straight down at a 90 degree drop. It's a real good drop - almost a free fall. The ride goes on through a few loops and twists and then repeats everything a second time. It's a bit short of a ride but the drop was unbelievable.

The Alpengeist is a coaster where your feet are dangling and you are either upside down or twisted sideways for almost the entire ride. It's faster, longer, and much more curvy then The Griffin. It's even better at night!

Who is your winner?

Good Luck Charm

If you haven't met the Raiders mascot then get your arse down to The Muldoon and say hi to Oaklee. Oaks is a 6 1/2 year old French Bulldog who pretty much owns the gym as shown in the team photo above with the 2009 Rivier Women's Volleyball Team.

Yahtzee!!!!

Everybody loves a winner and we are no different here at RIV Nation especially when it's one of our Alum's who is the winner. Class of 2002 Alumni Lou Rondeau hit the jackpot with a $50,000 scratch ticket. As the story goes, Sweet Lou was playing some pick up grass volleyball at Holman Stadium in Nashua NH and he asked his buddy to pick up a gallon of water for him. Lou gave his friend $5, purchased the gallon of H20 and then took the change and bought a ticket. His friend covered the rest of the money to pay for the $5 lucky piece. The rest is history! Check out the photo on the link below:
http://www.newhampshirelottery.com/WinnersGallery/WinnersGallery.aspx

Bigger and Better Website

Finally! The new Rivier College website is up and running and the Athletics page is awesome! Now all of RIV Nation can get instant updates of scores and stats along with recaps and photos of all our sports. The site is soooo easy to navigate and the calendar allows for you to find when and where your favorite RIV team will be playing next. There is even a link for this Blog!
Go to http://www.rivierathletics.com/ and check it out.

It's All About the Coach

Laura Ciummo ('09) and Lindsay Marshall ('08) are the latest Raider Alum's to put on the coaching gear in the New England college ranks. Ciummo, the Raiders all time record holder for assists, will join Division I Providence College as an assistant coach while Marshall, RIV's all time leader in digs, will be part of the Division III Salve Regina University coaching team.

You can find the press release for Ciummo on the link below:
http://www.friars.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/ciummo_laura00.html

It's great to see RIV grads giving back to the volleyball community and teaching the RIV way.
Other notable RIV Raider coaches in the college game are Don Ferguson - University of Hartford, Jason Conetta - Simmons College, Javier Laureano - Emmanuel College, Greg Stanton - Rivier College, Nhut Chau - Rivier College, Kevin Harrington - Johnson & Wales University.

It's not just the college game either as many Raiders are currently coaching high school, junior high school, and or club teams through out New England.

The experience received from RIV Nation is obviously second to none and it's shown by Rivier grads and their love for the game!!!

Summer Days

Summer time is one of our favorite times of year and The Nation is in full swing participating in beach and grass tourneys. Current Ballers from both the men's and women's team are taking their games to the next level while enjoying Newport Beach with each other. Alumni Gabe Howard and Mike Buccarelli are traveling up and down the east coast consistently placing in the top 10 of the "Open" Level in beach tournaments while Alum's Lindsay Marshall and Danielle Rogers are making a name for themselves in the "Open" Level in Newport RI.

Ahhhhhhhh........The Rookies!

Orientation time at The RIV which means it's time to see all the new faces of the Raider family. It's always exciting to see the newbees in the summer. The hard work of recruiting for RIV Nation has finally paid off and they are on campus. It's always great to see the faces who hopefully will help continue the long tradition of success for Rivier Volleyball.

Lucky Number 943

.943 winning percentage....... Not too shabby for the Raider men in 2009. The NCAA thought so as well naming Rivier the 2009 Division I statistical champion for winning percentage after winning 33 out of 35 matches. Nice award but I'll take the constant focus, concentration, and effort of winning 30 straight matches during the season as a higher honor. Either way a .943 winning percentage and 30 straight wins may never be touched for a long time.

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR

Setter Jamison Chue led Newton South High School to a 3-2 win over Brookline High to advance into the Final 4 of the Massachusetts state tournament. Chue and South will face off against powerhouse Lincoln-Sudbury High School at 7pm on Saturday 6/6 at North Quincy High School.

Tourney Time

It's high school playoff time in Massachusetts and New Jersey for two future Raiders. In Jersey, middle hitter Ryan Finnegan made a good run of it with a young supporting cast around him, but Toms River South High eventually lost to Howell High School.
In Mass, setter Jamison Chue has led Newton South to the finals of the South sectional. Jamie and South will face off against Brookline High School on 6/3 at 4pm at Newton North high School. The winner will move on to the final four of Massachusetts volleyball.

GNAC Champions AGAIN

Both the women and the men capped off successful seasons with their second straight GNAC title. Dynasty in the making..........