Boston, Mass. – The near-capacity crowd at Brown-Plofker Gym got their moneys worth Saturday afternoon as the GNAC Women's Volleyball Championship saw the faithful on the edge of their seats as the match went to five sets with the visiting Rivier Raiders taking the win 25-20, 25-27, 11-25, 25-21 and 15-12 over the Emerson Women's Volleyball Team. The loss ends the season for the Lions who finish with a 24-8 record on the year and a 2-1 record in postseason play while Rivier moves to 22-13 overall and 3-0 in the GNAC Tournament.

The first set saw the Lions defense come out ready to rock, but the offense found itself off-kilt in the early points against the Raiders, which made them pay dearly in the end. Rivier and Kenna Finlayson came out with the gloves off in the first bout as Finlayson floored eight kills in the set with fellow All-tournament team member, Nicole Boucher nipping on her heels with six apiece. The Lions weren't about to go quietly though as they make Rivier work for it, posting four blocks in the set with Kat Rice leading the pack with a solo and an assist. The effort couldn't hold for EC though as they saw the Raiders take off with set one 25-20.

The Lions returned to the floor for a second set which saw them play their game by pushing the Raiders to the brink in the set with nine tie scores and four lead changes setting the crowd into a frenzy. While Rivier was able to pull off a better attack percentage they couldn't capitalize with their six service errors making the difference in the match as EC snaked away with a gritty 27-25 win to even it up.

Set three was all EC as they put on a clinic in the set with Kat Rice banging her way to a .429 average with three kills while Jessica Drumright and Megan Scanlon collected two service aces apiece as they drubbed the Raiders in a blowout 25-11 score that silenced the Rivier faithful.

The Raiders composed themselves in the fourth set, even as Emerson was given chances to take the reigns with Jessica Drumright throwing down a nasty .500 attack percentage to lead the set with four kills. This time the Lions tripped themselves up with the serving game as four service errors would prove ultimately costly in the set that Rivier stormed back to take 25-21.

Coming down to the wire with nearly every fan in the gym on their feet, Rivier took the lead in the fifth set which started out grimly for the Lions as the Raiders took an 8-4 lead. The Lions didn't make it so far on luck though as they pieced together a rally that chipped away at Rivier's lead until it held at twelve all. A serving and attack error combined with another kill from the tournament MVP, Kenna Finlayson was all it took though as the Raiders pulled out the comeback to finish the match and take the title with a 15-12 final.

The loss ends the season for the Lions with a 24-8 overall record, a perfect 13-0 GNAC record and a 2-1 postseason record.

GNAC Volleyball All-Tournament Team

Simmons – Meghan Flynn

Emmanuel – Jenna Ross

Rivier – Nicole Peacock

Rivier – Nicole Boucher

Emerson – Katie Bailey

Emerson – Kat Rice

MVP: Kenna Finlayson