Falcons Drop 3-0 Decision to Rivier in Women's Volleyball

Photo by Ron Waite
Photo by Ron Waite

The Albertus Magnus women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-15) decision at Rivier University on Monday afternoon.

With their third-straight loss, the Falcons fall to 9-10 on the year and 1-6 in league action.  For the Raiders, the win improves their overall record to 17-5 and 5-0 in the league standings.

Caitlin Prete (Milford, Conn.) led the Falcons with a team-high seven digs, while adding three service aces and one kill. Alyssa Puccilli (Milford, Conn.) added six digs for the Falcons as well.

Melissa Manning (Milford, Conn.) added a team-high five kills, while Lily Dy (Torrington, Conn.) dished out nine assists to go along with three digs.

In the opening set, Rivier jumped out to a 7-1 lead on a kill by Nicole Peacock.  After extending their lead to 12-5 then 17-9, the Falcons went on a 4-0 run to get to within four at 17-13 led by the serving efforts of Caitlin Prete.

Rivier answered those points by finishing out the set on an 8-3 run to win 25-16.

In the second set, the Raiders jumped out to a 17-2 lead. Strong serving led the Raiders in the set as they cruised to a 25-9 victory.

In the final set, the Raiders once again flew out of the gate to take an 8-2 advantage before the Falcons tied the score at eight thanks to two Raiders' hitting errors, a Melissa Manning kill, and two Caitlin Prete service aces.  A 12-2 run by the Raiders broke the score open as Rivier took a 20-10 lead. Despite the late-set rally, the Falcons fell in the frame 25-15.

Taylor DePalma (East Haven, Conn.) and Amy Seliga (East Haven, Conn.) both chipped in with two kills a piece for the Falcons.

Rivier's Nicole Peacock recorded seven kills and two total blocks in her two sets played to lead the team. The Raiders' sophomore Emily O'Reilly registered 29 assists and senior libero Jessica Amaral contributed 14 digs.

Albertus will host Anna Maria College on Saturday, Oct. 19 in an 11:00 a.m. GNAC match-up during the College's Fall Fest celebration.  The match is free of charge but the College is asking for friends, alumni, and family to RSVP for the day's festivities by going to Albertus.edu.  The women's volleyball team is also asking its fans to wear pink for the team's Dig Pink match.